Super Bowl Shootout
by AM78
Summary: In 1981, a brutal shootout in the streets of Philadelphia just hours after Super Bowl XV left a police officer dead in the line of duty. Originally thought to be the result of a botched robbery, the truth turns out to be far more complex.
1. Chapter 1

The following story is fictional and does not depict any real person or event:_  
_

_January 26, 1981_

_("Wheel in the Sky" by Journey)_

_A lone police cruiser patrolled the nearly empty streets of Philadelphia at 2:00 a.m. in the morning. Inside were veteran officer Darnell Prince and his junior partner, 21-year old Laura Stanton. Prince was a highly skilled and dedicated officer and Stanton had almost never seen him appear upset, angry, or depressed on the job. But today was an exception. Only a few hours ago before he had shown up for duty, Darnell had watched his beloved Philadelphia Eagles lose Super Bowl XV to the Oakland Raiders, 27-10._

_"I can't believe it!" He wailed. "All those years of sitting through losing seasons waiting for the team to turn around, just to watch Ron Jaworski throw three interceptions in the Super Bowl...ALL TO THE SAME PLAYER! Meanwhile, their defense can't even stop someone like Kenny King from scoring an 80-yard touchdown reception!"_

_Laura rolled her eyes. "Oh come on Darnell, lighten up. You finally got to see your team make it to big game, you should find some consolation in that."_

_She turned away and smiled. Deep down she found the situation highly amusing. Here was her highly skilled senior partner who rarely ever displayed any emotion while dealing with crack heads and violent felons whining like a child because his favorite team had lost a ball game. "Besides, a 17-point loss isn't the worst Super Bowl defeat I've ever heard of."_

_Darnell quelled his anger. "Well this is still going to be hard to get over. I swear to god I'm not mentioning football for at least another six months."_

_Laura was about to respond that this was the most comforting thought she had heard all day when suddenly she was interrupted by the police radio. "Car 21, report to the Westland Jewelry store at 17403 Hastings Street. Anonymous phone caller reports suspicious individuals loitering around the store. Need you to go check it out."_

_Laura picked up the radio. "Copy Dispatch, Car 21 en route, e.t.a 10 minutes." After putting down the radio, she turned back to Prince. "Well there you go big guy, a nice 'suspicious persons' call. Maybe this will help take your mind off the game". Prince sighed and turned the car around, heading in the direction of Hastings Street._

_We can only hope," he muttered under his breath._

_Several minutes later they pulled up to the Westland Jewelry Store. Sure enough, they spotted three people, all males, hanging out near the store. Through the dim lighting of the cruiser headlights, the officers could barely make any details about them. And they never got the chance. As the Cruiser came within 20 yards of the three men, they suddenly spun around and opened fire on the car with semi-automatic rifles and handguns. Stanton screamed in horror as bullets blew out the windshield and tore through the engine block. But Prince maintained his composure._

_"Hang on Laura, I'm getting us out of here!" he shouted as he threw the car in reverse._

_But just moments after flooring it backwards, incoming rounds blew out a front tire, sending the cruiser spinning wildly across the road until it finally crashed into parked car in the street, rendering it immobile. Prince immediately jumped out of the cruiser, took cover, and drew his service weapon as bullets continued to stream in his direction. He saw the three suspects moving closer._

_"Come on Stanton!," he shouted to his partner, "get out of your seat and over to my side of the car, I'll cover you!"_

_Laura groaned in pain in her passenger seat. The impact of the crash had knocked her dizzy, and she was still in shock._

_"Laura, get over here! We're not dying tonight! Not like this!"_

_Upon finishing his sentence, he got up using the cruiser as cover and opened fire with his .38 caliber Smith and Wesson revolver. It didn't seem like much of a weapon compared to the firepower wielded by the suspects, but it was enough to pin them down and halt their advance. This time, Laura obeyed her superior, crawling through the driver's side of the battered cruiser and joining Darnell on his side of the car._

_Suddenly the gunfire died down a bit as the suspects started to run low on ammo in their magazines. Darnell pointed to Laura and then made an upward motion with his left hand. Then they sprung up from behind their cover and opened fire on the suspects with everything they had. One of the three men was struck by several .38 caliber rounds in the neck and chest. His rifle fell from his grip and his collapsed next to it, dead before he hit the ground. After ducking back down as another hailstorm of bullets flew in his direction, Prince reached through the shattered cruiser window and hit the trunk release. Immediately realizing what his intention was, Laura snapped her empty revolver back into her holster, moved to the trunk, and pulled out a Remington 870 shotgun._

_"Alright Laura, let em have it!" Prince shouted as soon as she had the weapon ready._

_Laura emerged from her cover and opened up on the suspects with her shotgun, firing as fast as she could pump the action and pull the trigger. She didn't score any hits, but the sudden barrage of buckshot surprised the two remaining men and caused them to dive for cover. This gave Darnell the time he needed to reload his own weapon. With a few simple motions at high speed, he swiftly dumped the empty shell casings onto the street, pulled a speedloader from his belt, and snapped in a fresh cylinder load._

_While Laura ducked back down to reload her Remington, clawing spare shells from the shotgun's tactical sling and stuffing them down the magazine tube, Darnell got up and waited for the suspects to show themselves. When one of them emerged from cover to return fire, Prince snapped off a single shot from his revolver. The man collapsed on the ground, dropped his weapon, and started screaming in agony. Realizing the odds were now stacked heavily against him, the third suspect dropped his gun and ran._

_"Stanton, go after him, I'll handle things here!" Shouted Darnell as he emerged from cover._

_Darnell moved up with his revolver aimed on the downed suspect while Laura took off after the third shooter. Laura was surprised that Darnell would trust her to chase down a violent suspect alone, but she immediately obeyed. After all, it seemed that Darnell had the situation well under control at his end and the fleeing suspect was no longer armed._

_Without giving his order a second thought, Laura took off after the third man. Steam puffed from her mouth in the frigid winter air, while her legs felt like lead blocks and the shotgun a virtual anchor in her hands. But it made no difference. All the horror of the initial surprise attack was completely banished from her mind. Now they had the upper hand. They were in control. Laura pushed herself onward through pure adrenaline and rage, determined to bring the whole nightmarish affair to an end on her own terms._

_In her pursuit, she heard Darnell over the radio calling dispatch to report their situation and request backup. After several seconds, Laura realized she had ran a fairly long distance away from the scene of the initial shootout and her partner. She was about to give up and head back when suddenly she saw a dark figure duck into an ally up ahead of her._

_"Gotcha now" she thought to herself, "the only way you are coming out of there is in cuffs or a body bag"._

_But when she stepped into the ally, no one was in sight. Laura immediately brought her Remington up to eye level and slowly walked down the ally looking for the man, keeping an eye out for any movement. Her feelings of fury and confidence quickly giving way to hyper-alertness and fear._

_Suddenly the suspect burst out of hiding behind a dumpster next to her, catching Stanton completely by surprise. She tried to shoot him, but the man got his hands on her shotgun and pushed the barrel up, sending the blast harmlessly into the air. After that, he used his grip on the weapon to pin her against a wall and press the shotgun hard against her neck. Laura desperately tried to push the gun away from her throat but it was no use, the man was too strong and she could feel herself blacking out._

_"I'm gonna choke you out bitch! Your time is up!" shouted the man, sensing victory._

_But Laura wasn't about to give up. Using every ounce of strength she had left, Laura drove her knee into the suspect's groin. The man's hands instinctively let go of the shotgun and went to his groin and he stumbled backwards, groaning in pain. Stanton followed up her knee blow by striking the suspect across the face with the butt stock of her shotgun, breaking the man's jaw and spinning him around away from her. With one final move, Laura kicked the suspect in the back as hard as she could, sending him plunging head first into a row of trash cans._

_Gasping heavily, Laura sank to her knees took a moment to catch her breath. But a moment was all she had. To her amazement, the suspect was attempting to get up. __Enraged, Laura racked the shotgun and pointed it at his head, the sound of the live round slamming into the firing chamber causing him to stop dead in his tracks._

_"Don't even think about moving you maggot! You're under arrest! Get your fucking hands behind your back!"_

_That did it. Whatever resiliance Laura's attacker still possessed was instantly overwhelmed by the sound of a fresh buckshot round being chambered into the 870. Now completely subdued, the man complied as best he could under his intense pain. Soon after, Laura had him handcuffed and checked him for additional weapons. Then she sat down exhausted and radioed dispatch._

_"Dispatch this is officer Stanton. I've arrested one male suspect. Send backup units and paramedics to my location immediately. He's in pretty bad shape."_

_"Copy that Stanton, backup units are on the way," responded dispatch._

_Then Laura radioed her partner, so caught up in her moment of triumph and filled with satisfaction that she completely lost all sense of professionalism and proper radio terminology._

_"Prince did you hear that? I got him! We did it! How are you holding up on your end?"_

_Stanton waited for a response but there was no answer. "Prince, respond! Is everything alright?" Still no response. Now Stanton was starting to panic. "Dammit Prince answer me! What's going on Darnell, Darnell?" Stanton continued to scream into the radio, but there was no answer from her partner._

_Back at the scene of the initial shootout, Prince lay sprawled out on the ground, dead from multiple gun shots to the chest and head, with his still-smoking revolver lying next to him. The suspect whom he had stayed behind to arrest was gone._

* * *

_With a heavy heart and sadness on his mind, a detective carried a folder through the records room of the Philadelphia police station. If there was one thing he hated about his job, this was it. While he had become a detective knowing full well not all of his cases would be solved, nothing hurt more then the inability to solve the murder of one of his own. Yet after a year of countless hours poured into the case, that was the final result._

_"Sorry brother," the detective though to himself as he placed the folder in it's proper spot on a shelf in the records room. "We did all we could..."_

_The caption on the folder read: "Prince, D. Jan 1981"_

* * *

Pennsylvania State Prison, present day

"Hello detectives, welcome to my humble abode. I hope you find the accommodations to your liking." Said Mike Ballard sarcastically as detectives Scotty Valens and John Stillman entered his prison cell.

Stillman was not amused "Cut the crap Ballard. You said you had information on an unsolved murder from the 80's. Now you've got two minutes to convince us you've got something valuable or you can rot in prison for the rest of your life."

Mike smiled, "Ah straight to business I see. Fine. Yeah I got something you want. It's about Darnell Prince, a cop shot dead in 1981. I figure you two have heard of the event. He was killed while breaking up a burglary attempt at a jewelry store by three armed men. Occurred just hours after the Super Bowl if I remember correctly."

That got John's attention. Scotty noticed the surprise on his face. But he didn't appear completely convinced. "I'm familiar with that case. Back then they called it the Super Bowl shootout. But what could you possibly know about it? You're 34. By my math that makes you only 8 years old when he was killed."

"Because in the 1990's I shared a cell with a man involved in the shootout and arrested that night, Eddie Ransen. Ransen always bragged about how he never told the cops a damn thing about what happened, and how they would never know what the truth. But after several years as his cellmate, I managed to get on good terms with him. And he told me something that I think you would find very interesting."

"You found out this information back in the 1990's and you're just now offering it to us? I suppose this has something to do with you being eligible for parole in a few months." Scotty pointed out.

"You got it detective," Ballard responded. "I'll tell you what you want if you agree to recommend my parole at the upcoming hearing, and you make sure the DA's office doesn't oppose it. You also gotta promise you won't talk to Ransen about this. The man's a stone cold killer and he's made a lot of connections in here. If he finds out I spilled his big secret, I'll never live to see the parole board."

If there was one thing Scotty hated about his job, this was it. Having to make deals with scum like Mike Ballard. Nearly all of the leads the Cold Case squad had received from jail house snitches turned out to be false and there was no reason to believe this was any different.

"You're a career criminal with a rap sheet of felonies a mile long," He pointed out. "Why on earth should we even consider helping you out of the joint?"

"Simple. Because I didn't kill anybody. Your job is to catch killers if I'm not mistaken. And there is no way you're getting the guy who killed Prince without my help. He's already spent the last 26 years on the streets. You want him to get a free pass for the rest of his life?"

John finally cut in. "Alright Ballard. You got a deal as long as we determine your information is valid. And don't worry about us talking to Ransen. He's no more willing to cooperate with us today then he was 26 years ago. Now who killed officer Prince?"

"I don't know"

Stillman got up as if he was about to leave. "Mike, this trip took up several minutes of my life I'm never going to get back."

After that remark, Stillman noticed a look of fear in Ballard's face. "Hey look man, you gotta understand, this was Eddie's big secret. I couldn't just straight up ask him for the truth. He would know what I was planning and have me taken out. I had to built a rapport with him and squeeze the info out of him over the course of several months".

Stillman sat back down. "Okay, so did you find out anything useful?"

Ballard smiled and continued. "You bet. One day we were talking about the events that got us put away, and I taunted him by pointing out he was put away by a rookie female cop barely old enough to drink. Then out of nowhere he counters that while that might be true, the cops never found out the truth about what the gun battle that night was really all about."

"We already know that. It was a botched burglary," Scotty pointed out.

"No it wasn't. That was his big secret all this time. Eddie told me the job that night wasn't a burglary. It was a professional hit. Some guy paid him and the other men to whack the cop. He said they were told to wait at the Jewelry store for police car to show and then take out the occupants. The guy who hired them never said who the cop was or why he wanted him dead, just to do the job and make it look like a burglary. Obviously things didn't go as planned. They didn't know there was going to be two cops in the car, and they put up a much better fight then expected."

"So who was the suspect that escaped that night? And who was the man who hired Eddie's crew?" Stillman asked.

"I couldn't get that out of him. I could tell Ransen was getting suspicious. If I had kept asking him questions about it, he would have been on to me."

"That's it?" Scotty responded. "That's all you have for us? Why the hell should we believe...

Stillman cut him off. "Alright Mike, you got a deal. If your tip pans out, we'll recommend you for parole and make sure the DA doesn't oppose it. Come on detective Valens, we're leaving."

And with that, the two detectives left the prison before Scotty had a chance to continue.

On the trip back to the station, Scotty was visibly upset. "Lt, you really think Ballard's information is valid? The man's looking for a way out of the joint. He'd tell us Prince was killed by space aliens if he thought it was what we wanted to hear."

"Well that may be, but there's a chance he's telling the truth. After all, if he was lying, why just tell us the aspects of the crime? Why not give us something better?" Stillman pointed out. "Look this is a cop killing we're talking about. If there is even the slightest chance we can find the killer as a result of this lead, it's worth letting that low-life out of prison. I've already called the other members of the squad and they'll be meeting us at the station to start the re-opening of the case immediately."

"Okay okay." Said Scotty, realizing there was no point in arguing. "Man, first Darnell suffered through the Eagles losing the Super Bowl and then he gets offed a few hours later. What a lousy night." He commented.

"It was a lousy night for the entire city." Said Stillman. "But someone got what they wanted out of the whole thing. One very dead cop and a police force that never knew the real story."

Roll Cold Case intro song


	2. Chapter 2

Back at the police department, the entire Cold Case squad was assembled and going over the files on their newest case.

"Darnell Prince, 36-year old African American male." Lilly read off the file. "Hmmm seems like officer Prince was a real Captain America. Joined the Pennsylvania National Guard at age 18, and Philadelphia police department at age 23. He spent the rest of his life in both, earning numerous decorations and honors. The man spent his entire adult life in the military and law enforcement. It all came to an end on January 26, 1981."

"Killed the day after the Eagles were crushed in Super Bowl XV." Commented detective Will Jefferies. "Damn, and I thought I was the one having a bad day back then."

"I remember the case all too well", said Stillman. "At 2 am on the morning, Prince and his partner, Laura Stanton, were dispatched to investigate an anonymous phone call of suspicious people loitering around a jewelry store. When they arrived at the scene, the three men simply opened fire on them without warning. The two officers found themselves in shootout with three men armed with AR-15 rifles and 9mm handguns. And all the officers had were their .38 caliber revolvers and a shotgun. Not good odds by my book."

"Seems more like insurmountable odds," said Scotty. "I'm amazed Stanton wasn't killed as well."

Lilly continued reading from the file "Well it turns out the officers handled themselves pretty well. They managed to kill one, incapacitate another, and force the third suspect to flee. Stanton chased down and arrested the third shooter after a violent struggle while Prince stayed behind to arrest the wounded suspect. But when backup units arrived at the location or the original shootout, they found Prince dead. He had been shot three times with his own revolver. The suspect whom he had stayed behind to arrest was gone."

"Back then, the original theory was that the man Prince tried to arrest wasn't really shot." Stillman cut in. "He was either pretending to be shot or was wearing body armor. So when Prince came up to arrest him, the man put up a fight and took the officer by surprise. The investigators figured during the struggle, the man managed to get control of Prince's service weapon and kill him with it. Then he slipped away before the backup units arrived."

"That's consistent with the evidence at the scene," remarked Lilly. "It says here Prince had defensive wounds on his hands and a large cut above his right eye. Also the only blood types found at the scene were Prince's and the blood of the man who was killed. No blood from the second shooter."

"What else did the police uncover in the original investigation?" Asked detective Nick Vera.

"Not much. Back then the case was thought to be a simple burglary that was interrupted in progress, and the perps decided to shoot their way out of an arrest. Both the dead man and the man arrested by Stanton had numerous prior convictions for burglary and armed robbery, and the cops found a set of burglary tools at the scene. They also found a set of fingerprints on the murder weapon that didn't belong to Prince, but they were never able to match them to anyone. The person who made the phone call that sent them to the scene was never identified either. The call came from a public phone a few miles away. By the time investigators found it, several other people had already used the phone and the finger prints were ruined."

"What about the man arrested by Stanton?" Asked Scotty. "Why didn't the police get anything out of him?"

"Because he refused to talk." Lilly responded. "Not surprising since he had nothing to gain by doing so. That man was Eddie Ransen, a career criminal with a long history of violent felonies. He knew his involvement in the death of a police officer, not to mention his attempt to kill Stanton, was going to put him away for the rest of his life no matter what he said."

"It's odd the D. A. didn't cut a deal with him in exchange for information about the case", Vera pointed out, "you would think they would be willing to do so in order to catch a cop killer."

By now Stillman had sat down next to Lilly and was also reading the files. "Not for this guy they weren't. Ransen wasn't just your typical run of the mill robber. He was a career criminal and the prime suspect in two prior unsolved homicides. The D. A. was sure he was the killer in those cases, but they never had enough evidence to put him away. Now they finally had him dead to rights and there was no way they were going to cut any deal that would spare him a life sentence in prison. And since he didn't actually kill officer Prince, they couldn't threaten him with the death penalty. So Ransen had nothing to gain by cutting a deal. He was locked away for life and he decided to let the truth about that night be locked away with him."

"Until now that is." Said Scotty. "His old cellmate said it was really a professional hit. But who would want Prince dead?"

"Hard to say." Stillman responded, "Prince has a spotless record. No complaints of excessive force or allegations of corruption. His finances check out too. No evidence that he was taking bribes or had debts."

"Well I think we'll need to look into that a little more," said Jeffries. "It could be that he simply never got caught. I don't care how clean his record is, as a general rule you don't get on the receiving end of that much firepower without doing something to earn it."

"Maybe it wasn't meant for him. Maybe it was for his partner, Laura Stanton. And he just happened to be there," Lilly pointed out.

"I doubt it," said Stillman. "Stanton was a 21-year old rookie with less then a year on the force. Doesn't sound like she was around long enough to make the type of enemies who could set up something like this. Maybe it wasn't about Stanton or Prince. Maybe someone just wanted to kill a cop that night. Any cop. There were a lot of organizations back then that had homicidal hatred of the police. The Black Liberation Army. MOVE. The Black Panthers. Not to mention the mafia. Could be that both officers were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. After all, how would anyone even know where Prince would be patrolling the night he was killed?"

"Maybe some of Darnell's fellow officers set him up," Vera answered. "We all know there were a lot of corrupt cops back then. Maybe one of them arranged for someone to make the phone call then sent Prince to his death."

Stillman sighed. "Look we can play these speculation games all day if we want, but it will get us nowhere. We need to find out if there was anyone out there who had a grudge against Prince shortly before he was killed. Prince doesn't have any surviving family members, so the most likely person who would know that would be his old partner, officer Stanton. Rush and Valens, I need you to go pay her a visit."

"No problem. Is she still on the force?" Asked Valens as he was getting up to leave.

"No," Stillman responded. "Stanton retired from the department in 2006 after 25 years of service. This interview will have to  
be a house call."

* * *

While Lilly drove to the Stanton residence, Scotty was busy in the passenger seat going over Laura's records from her department.

"Losing your partner during the first year on the job," commented Lilly. "That had to be devastating. I'm not sure I could handle it."

Scotty looked up from the papers in his lap. "Looks like she handled it pretty well. Her participation in the 1981 shootout earned her a Medal of Valor, making her the youngest officer ever in her precinct to receive that award. Stanton's 25 years on the force were exemplary. You should see this file. Her awards and citations alone probably take up more space then my entire record folder. She also retired at the rank of Captain."

"Wow, I guess Darnell would be proud. Okay we're here." Said Lilly as she pulled the car into the driveway of Stanton's house. The two detectives walked up to the house and knocked on the door. Shortly after, it was answered by a boy who looked to be about 17.

"Um hi, who are you?" He asked.

Lilly pulled out her police badge. "Police. We need to speak with Mrs. Stanton. Is she home?"

The boy turned around and shouted back into the house "Hey Mom! Some cops are here to see you!"

"Coming!" came the response of a female voice from inside the house. Within a few seconds, Laura, now 47 years old, came to the door. "Thanks Jeff, I'll take it from here. She said, sending the boy away. "Hello Detectives, I'm Laura Stanton. How may I help you?"

"Hi Mrs. Stanton, Detectives Rush and Valens," responded Lilly "We need to speak with you about a case we're investigating. Is there anywhere we can talk in private?"

"Sure I've got a room upstairs. Come on in." She quickly led them into her house and upstairs. "So what can I help you with."? She asked once they were in the room

"It's about your old partner, Darnell Prince. We've got a new lead on his case and we're re-opening the investigation." Scotty answered.

Upon hearing this, Stanton displayed a look of shock, followed soon after by enthusiasm. "Really? You mean there's finally a chance it could be solved? What's the new lead?"

Scotty was surprised, "Um I'm sorry, but we can't discuss the details of an active investigation. As a former police officer yourself, I'm sure you understand."

Laura regained her composure. "Right. Sorry it's just that I've been waiting to hear this a long time. After all these years I've never stopped hoping or believing that one day Darnell's killer could be discovered and put away. Darnell was more then just a partner. He was a mentor and a friend. I still find myself thinking about him every now and then."

"Well then maybe you can help us." Said Lilly. "We're considering the possibility that the shootout that night wasn't about escaping arrest, but by a personal matter. Can you think anyone back then who would want to hurt Darnell?"

"You mean it's possible those men at the store were waiting there just to kill him?" Laura asked, somewhat surprised. Then she considered Lilly's question. "Well Darnell didn't have any family or a lot friends other then me and his fellow officers, along with his pals at his National Guard unit. And as far as I could tell, they got along fine. Darnell was the best cop I ever knew. He was skilled and highly respected. A guy who really lived for the job."

"What about the people he dealt with on the job?" Asked Scotty. "Anyone ever make any threats against him?"

"Oh all the time. They're criminals after all", Laura responded with a smile. "But there was one incident that happened two weeks before Darnell was killed. We had just broke up a fight in the streets and arrested some low life punk named Marcus Rothman as he tried flee the scene. During a search, we found drugs on him. We had him cuffed in the back of our squad car and were driving back to the station when something happened that I'll never forget."

"What's that?" Asked Lilly.

"In the 9 months I spent as Darnell's partner, it was the only time I ever saw the behavior of a criminal suspect cause him to lose his cool."

* * *

_("Shake it Up" by The Cars)_

_"Man this is bullshit! You think that badge gives you the right to do what ever you want to people? Well I got news for you, pigs! It's just a piece of plastic!" Shouted Marcus from the back seat of the cruiser as Laura and Darnell were driving him back to their police station._

_"Nah, it just gives us the right to break up fights and arrest little punks like you." Darnell responded from the front passenger seat. Marcus had been rambling on ever since he was placed in the squad car and it was starting to get on his nerves. "Honestly Marcus, you should be thanking us. Those other guys would have kicked your ass if we hadn't broken that fight up."_

_"Go to hell!" Marcus responded angrily_

_"I mean seriously Marcus, what the heck were you thinking?" Darnell continued. "Fighting in the streets and doing drugs? You think you're some hotshot gang banger or something? You're not like that at all. We both know it."_

_"Oh so you think you know me, huh?" Marcus shot back. "You don't know shit! I ain't no small timer! I know people! People in high places! People who'd really like to fuck up cops like you!"_

_"Is that so?" Darnell asked sarcastically._

_"Yeah that's how it is. You better watch your back, pig! You and your little bitch partner! Pretty soon you and her are both going to get what you deserve! You're both dead, you hear me? Dead! And I'm going to make it happen!"_

_Darnell smiled and then turned to his partner in the driver's seat. "Laura, stop the car."_

_Laura looked surprised at this remark. "What?"_

_"I said stop the car," Darnell repeated in a firm voice.  
_

_Laura was completely baffled by her partner's order, but she complied and stopped the cruiser. As soon as the cruiser stopped, Darnell got out of the car and opened the rear passenger door next to Marcus. Suddenly Marcus' attitude changed from angry defiance to surprised fear. "Hey! What the hell are you doing?!" He asked in a startled voice._

_Darnell reached into the rear seat and roughly pulled Marcus out of the car. "Come on Junior, let's take a walk. You and I are going to have a little private chat!"_

_Marcus seemed horrified now. "Wait a minute! I got rights! You can't do this!"_

_"Oh really?" Responded Darnell as he started dragging Marcus down a nearby ally. "This badge makes me think I can do whatever I want to people, remember? And right now I feel like teaching you a lesson. One you'll never forget!"_

_Now Laura was getting worried. She had never seen Darnell treat a suspect like this. "Darnell, what's going on?"_

_"Don't worry about it Stanton. Just wait in car and keep the engine running. This won't take long," responded Darnell._

_Marcus continued to struggle and protest and Darnell dragged him away down the ally "You can't do this to me you son of a bitch! You lay a hand on me and you'll wind up shot full of holes! You hear me?! Dammit! Let me go..." His voice faded away as Darnell dragged him down the ally, out of Laura's visual and hearing range._

* * *

"After about 8 minutes or so, Darnell came back from the ally... alone." Said Laura. "He said that he had let Marcus go. When I asked why, he said it was because Marcus was a small time punk and it wasn't even worth the effort to book him. So we ditched his drugs and went back on patrol."

"Did you ask what he did to him?" Asked Lilly

"Of course. But all he said was 'don't worry about it. I just gave the little prick a lesson. He won't be giving us any more trouble. The problem has been dealt with.'"

"So it sounds like Darnell gave Marcus a little 'tough love' to straighten him out," said Scotty

"Look detective, I know it seems like Darnell beat the hell out of him, but I have a hard time believing it." Responded Laura.

"Why not?

"Because Darnell wasn't the type of cop who went around beating up suspects whenever they started shooting their mouth off," Laura explained. "It just wasn't like him. He was also so calm and under control. That's also why I was so shocked when I discovered he was murdered with his own gun. As soon as the shooting started that night, it was like Darnell was right at home. He was in complete control from then till the time I left to chase down Eddie Ransen."

"Well cops do sometimes get killed with their own weapons. Even the good ones. After all, on that night it nearly happened to you." Scotty pointed out.

"You don't need to remind me detective," said Laura bitterly. "But I'm telling you, there is way more to this story. Something the original investigators didn't or couldn't account for. So is there anything else I can help you with?"

Lilly and Scotty got up to leave "No, that will be all. Thank you Mrs. Stanton. We'll contact you if we need anything else."

"Alright, well have a good day detectives. And please, find out who killed Prince. He deserves justice. Especially after 26 years."

"We'll do everything we can." Lilly assured her. "I promise."


	3. Chapter 3

"So any luck locating our loudmouthed thug, Marcus Rothman?" asked Scotty as he and Lilly walked back into the station. On the drive back, they had called Stillman from a cell phone, explaining what they had learned and asking for a records check on Marcus.

"Yep, I got everything we need on him right here, current address included." Said detective Kat Miller from behind a desk. "It was pretty easy".

"Wow that was fast." Commented Lilly. "I'm was wondering if we would ever be able to find him at all."

"Well it's easy when you give me a suspect who's in the U. S. Military." Kat responded

"What? You mean the guy we're looking for is in the service?" Asked Scotty, fairly surprised. "Are you sure you got the right guy here?"

"Quite sure," Answered Kat. Then she handed over a stack of papers to Lilly containing the records on Marcus. The paper on the top had a picture of a middle-aged man in a Navy uniform. "Meet Master Chief Marcus Rothman of the U. S. Navy. He's been in 26 years now, and is currently stationed on a ship in Norfolk, Virginia. According to this, he joined the navy in February of 1981 and has been in ever since. And he's got a spotless record."

"Wow. So this street thug has spent the last 26 years of his life serving our country. Didn't see that one coming." Said Scotty.

"Wait a minute. You said he joined in February of 1981. That's less then a month after Darnell was killed. Sounds like he was trying to get away from something." Lilly pointed out

"Yeah, like responsibility for his actions." Said Stillman, who had walked in on the conversation. "The guy says he's going to have Darnell killed two weeks before the Super Bowl Shootout. Then just a few weeks later, he joins the navy and never returns home. That's one hell of a coincidence."

"Fortunately, because he's in the navy, we've got Rothman's finger prints in the system." Said Kat. "I've already sent them over to the lab to have them compared to the unknown prints we found on Darnell's revolver."

"Meanwhile I sent Vera and Jeffries to Norfolk to interview him." Added Stillman. "With any luck, his statements and prints could be the big break in the case we've been looking for."

* * *

After Marcus had received the phone call from Stillman requesting an interview, he had agreed to meet Vera and Jeffries at his off-base house a few miles outside of the navy station in Norfolk.

"Hello Chief Rothman, detectives Vera and Jefferies, it's a pleasure to meet you." Said Vera.

"The pleasure is all mine." Rothman said as he welcomed them into his house. The 46-year old man in the navy uniform standing in front of the two detectives seemed a stark contrast from the Marcus Rothman that Laura Stanton described. "So what brings two detectives from my hometown all the way out here to see me?"

"It's about our investigation into the murder of a police officer in 1981, Darnell Prince." Jeffries explained. "We've got a new lead and we're re-opening the case."

"Oh yeah, I remember that event. He was killed in a major shootout right after the Super Bowl." Marcus recalled. "But what does this have to do with me?"

"Quite a lot actually. We know Darnell arrested you two weeks before he was killed." Said Vera in a slightly more hostile tone then earlier.

Marcus seemed to be getting nervous. "Oh that? That was nothing. I was just picked up after he and his partner broke up a fight involving me and some other guys in the street. I was never even charged with any offense."

"We know that." Said Jeffries. "You weren't charged because Darnell decided to you a little 'street justice' after you started mouthing off."

Now Marcus was getting visibly upset. "Hey! I don't like your tone, detective. And I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Don't even bother lying to us, Marcus. His old partner already told us how Darnell dragged you down an ally and beat the hell out of you. Made you mad, didn't it? Mad enough to want him dead."

"What? No! You've got it all wrong!" Marcus replied.

But Vera was not convinced. He could tell Marcus was hiding something. "Save it! We know you threatened to have him killed while you in the squad car. And again while he was dragging you down that ally. 'Shot full of holes' was the term you used."

"That was just talk." Marcus claimed. "It didn't mean anything."

"Oh so it's just a coincidence that two weeks later Darnell did get 'shot full of holes' like you said he would?" Asked Jeffries. "And then a few weeks after that you just got up one morning and decided to run off and join the navy because you felt a sudden rush of patriotism? Admit it Marcus! You were so mad at the beating he gave you that you went off and ratted him out to your street gang friends, just like you said you would. And then they arranged to have him killed! Maybe you even pulled the trigger on him yourself! That would certainly explain why you were in such a hurry to leave town."

"Enough!!" shouted Marcus, jumping out of his seat in a fit of rage. Then he managed to calm himself a bit. "Detectives, I know what it looks like, but you've got everything all wrong. Just let me explain."

"Alright Marcus, but you had better give us something useful. Because right now you're the only suspect we've got." Said Jeffries.

Marcus sat back down. "First of all, you gotta understand something. Back then I was an immature 20-year old with delusions of power and a lot of built-up rage. The things I said about knowing people in high places who could kill cops; it was all a bluff. A stupid lie. And Darnell saw right through it. He was right. I was just a small time street punk. And that wasn't the life for me. If I had stayed in it, there's no question I'd be in prison or dead."

"Okay that's a start." Said Vera. "Tell us about what happened after he dragged you down that ally."

"I understand why you think Darnell beat me up. That's what I thought he was going to do." Marcus continued. "I had never been so scared in my life. But he didn't."

Jeffries looked surprised. "Okay, so if he didn't beat you up, then what did he drag you down the ally for?"

"To do exactly what he said he was going to do." Marcus explained. "Teach me a lesson."

_

* * *

__("Hit me with your best shot" by Pat Benatar)_

_"Hey man! This Bullshit! You can't do this! I swear to god if you don't let me go right now your pig friends are going to have to identify your remains with dental records!" Marcus continued to ramble on as Darnell dragged him down the ally._

_After dragging him down the ally far enough where he was sure his partner could no longer hear or see them, Darnell suddenly put a hand around Marcus' throat and slammed him up against a wall. Then he raised his arm and made a first with his other hand. _

_"That it! I'm sick of you running your goddamn mouth!" Darnell shouted at Marcus. "You're a nobody, Marcus! A pathetic little twirp with a mouth way too big for your own good! Do you have any idea what I could do you right now? I could smash your face in and no one would ever know about it! And no one would ever care!"_

_Marcus closed his eyes and waited in horror, expecting to start feeling blows on his face and ribs. But nothing happened. After a while, he opened his eyes._

_Darnell let go of Marcus' throat. Then he smiled. "You thought I was going to beat you to a bloody pulp, didn't you? Hardly surprising. Because those people I caught you fighting with... those were serious criminals. If they had you in this situation, that's exactly what they would have done. I'm telling you Marcus, if you keep associating with people like them and shooting your mouth off to the wrong crowd, it's a sure way into prison or an early grave."_

_"Screw you pig!" Marcus shot back. "You're job is to arrest me, not tell me how to live. I know I'm going to jail no matter what you tell me, so why should I give a damn?"_

_Darnell sighed. "Look Marcus, right now you haven't done anything serious and I'm willing to cut you a break, but only once. Just tell me where you got your drugs and I'll let you go."_

_Marcus was surprised. "You're bluffing. All you want is more people to throw behind bars so you can feel better about yourself. You'll throw me in jail no matter what."_

_"Marcus I'm serious." Said Darnell in a stern voice. "This is your last chance. I'm trying to help you. Now tell me where you got the drugs or you're going to jail. End of story."_

_Marcus was still surprised at Darnell's offer, but it seemed sincere, so he decided it was worth a try. "Alright. I got em from Landis. David Landis. He's been dealing for quite a while now."_

_Darnell looked shocked. "What?! No way! I know him! He's no drug dealer. He's only 18 years old!"_

_"Hey I'm telling you the truth man." Marcus insisted. "Landis has been working for Gerald Allen. I'm sure you're familiar with him. The man's a major drug kingpin and he doesn't have an age limit for his dealers."_

_Darnell started to pace around angrily. "This doesn't make sense. Dave's a good kid, there is no way he could be get into something like this..."_

_"Look man, I don't give a damn what you think about him. He's the guy who sold me the drugs. Now we had a deal." Said Marcus. He was starting to wonder if Darnell's offer was too good to be true.  
_

_Darnell turned Marcus around and took the handcuffs off him. "Alright, just wait here until I drive off. And remember, you better straighten your life out Marcus. I catch you involved with anything illegal again, and I don't care how slight it is. You're going down for it. And don't even think of going back to Landis. I'm going to make sure his drug dealing days are over, permanently."_

_With that, Darnell left the ally and went back to the waiting police cruiser._

* * *

"That was the last time I saw Darnell." Marcus explained. "But I really took what he said to me seriously. You gotta understand detectives, I wasn't used to getting a second chance at something after I screwed up. All that time I was doing everything I could to piss him off and he still was willing to cut me a break. I could tell he really did want to help me. Then a few weeks later I read in the papers that Darnell was killed while breaking up an attempted robbery. That really made me rethink my life. I realized it was time to get my act together and start doing something that really made a positive difference. For me and others."

"So that's what motivated you to run off and join the Navy?" Asked Jeffries.

"Exactly." Marcus responded. "I went straight to the recruiting station and left my old life behind. It was the best choice I ever made and I owed it all to Darnell. Believe me Mr. Jeffries, if I knew anything that could help you catch whoever killed him, I'd tell you."

Vera and Jeffries got up to leave. "Alright Chief Rothman. That's all we have for now. If we need anything else, we'll know where to find you."

"Alright. Good luck detectives. I hope this helped you."

"So it looks like we all wrong about Darnell." Said Vera as he and Jeffries left Rothman's house and started on the long trip back to Philadelphia. "He was just a guy who felt his job involved more then just throwing people behind bars. It sounds like he really wanted to help people."

"But that may be what got him killed." Responded Jeffries. "Maybe Landis wasn't interested in leaving the drug trade and told his boss that some cop was making his job difficult."

"That would certainly give Allen a strong motive to take out Darnell." Vera remarked. "And a drug kingpin would certainly have the finances to set up the hit."

Jeffries sighed. "Yeah I remember Allen. Back in the early 80s he had it all. Money and Power. A very lethal combination."


	4. Chapter 4

"So who was this Gerald Allen?" Kat asked Stillman back at the police station after they were informed of the results of Rothman's interview. "I've never heard of him."

"I guess he was a bit before your time." Responded Stillman. "Allen was a major drug kingpin during the late 70s and early 80s. He owned several legitimate businesses and used a few of them as a front for his drug operations. Everyone knew what he was doing, but the D. A. had a really hard time building a case against him. It seemed like he was always one step ahead of the authorities. But he couldn't avoid prosecution forever. In 1984 he was arrested and convicted of multiple charges of narcotics trafficking. He spent over a decade in prison and was released in 1996."

"Sounds like just the type of person who would set up a hit on a cop." Said Kat

"Well let's not get ahead of ourselves. First we need to talk with David Landis. I just got off the phone with him and he's agreed to come here for an interview. He sounded really interested in helping us with the case."

"That's surprising." Remarked Kat. "According to Marcus Rothman, Landis was one of Allen's dealers. Usually drug dealers aren't too interested in talking with the cops."

"Well if Allen was a dealer, it looks like he got out of the game a long time ago." Explained Stillman. "For the last 20 years, he's been working as a family doctor. He currently runs a private practice out of Chester in Delaware County."

Kat was surprised by this remark. "Really? Man this case is taking a lot of odd turns. A street thug who's a career navy man, a drug dealer who became a doctor. What's next? Are we going to find out Allen is now the head of the Peace Corps?"

Stillman smiled. "Well it will certainly be interesting to found out how Landis got his act together. Meanwhile, I'm still waiting for the report on Rothman's prints from the crime lab. Until I get that, Marcus isn't off the hook."

* * *

"Hello Mr. Landis, thanks for taking the trip here." Said Stillman after introducing himself and Kat. "As I said on the phone, we're re-opening the murder investigation on Darnell Prince and we think you might be able to help us."

"I'm glad to hear that," David responded. "Darnell's murder was devastating and I still find myself thinking about him from time to time. If there is anything I can do to help you solve the case, it's well worth a trip here."

"Well to start things off, how exactly did you get acquainted with Darnell?" Asked Kat

"From my Father, Rodney." David explained. "Dad was Darnell's next door neighbor and friend growing up, even though he was two years older. Dad was the best friend Darnell ever had, and in a way they even considered each other family. When Darnell was 17, his parents were killed in a car accident. After that, Rodney's parents let Darnell stay with them until he became an adult and could take over his family's assets. To me, Darnell was sort like the uncle I never had. He was a guy I could always turn to when I had problems that I didn't feel like sharing with my father. Especially after my parents got divorced."

"I see. And was drug dealing one of those problems?" Stillman asked

Landis seemed surprised by this question "Excuse me?"

"From what he hear, you got into drug dealing shortly before Darnell was killed." Kat cut in. "Probably not something Darnell or Rodney would have approved of."

David stood up and sighed. "So you know about that huh? After Darnell was killed, I was waiting for the cops to show up at my door asking about it, but they never did. Believe me, if I thought it had anything to do with his death, I would have come forward. But from what I heard about the case, it was just a botched robbery. So I didn't see how my drug dealing had anything to do with it."

"Well we think there is a possibility that it did." Said Stillman. "So if you really do care about Darnell, now's your time to come clean."

"Okay, okay." Said David, sitting back down. "Look, I wasn't some hardcore criminal. I was just a dumb teenager who made some bad decisions and then tried to fix them with even more."

"You don't need to rationalize your actions, Mr. Landis, just tell us what you did." Said Kat

"Okay, well here is what happened." David continued. "When I was 18 I had a major problem with gambling. Eventually, and I suppose inevitably, I ended up going against people way better then me and before I knew it, I was in over my head in debt. In debt to the kind of people who had very persuasive ways of making sure they got their money."

"So you figured drug dealing would be a way to dig yourself out of the hole?" Asked Stillman.

"Yeah. I know, it was stupid. But I managed to rationalize it by telling myself that if I didn't do it, someone else would. Besides, I figured if did a decent enough job at it, all my debts would be paid off in no time and I could forget about the whole thing and move on with my life. I already worked at a shop owned by Gerald Allen and had gotten to know him fairly well, so I figured it would be easy to get employed in the illegitimate side of his business."

"Was it?" Asked Kat.

"Absolutely. Allen was all too happy to make me one of his dealers. And it worked out great for both of us. Turns out I had natural talent for drug dealing. In less than a month I had all my debts paid off with plenty of cash left to spare. It seemed like my plan had worked out perfectly. But then I ran into a problem I didn't anticipate."

Stillman smiled. "Let me guess. Allen wouldn't let you let you go. I guess you didn't realize this is not the kind of job you can just walk away from."

"You got it." Said Landis, rolling his eyes. "I was so good at it that Allen decided he couldn't afford to let me go. Plus by that time I had learned a lot about his operation and he was worried I would be tempted to rat him out to the cops. Allen made it very clear what he would do to me if I tried to leave the business, go to the cops, or skip town. And believe me, he was very effective at driving his point home. It seemed like I was stuck and there was no way out. But then Darnell got involved and provided a way out for me."

_

* * *

__("Just what I needed" by The Cars)_

_David walked down the streets of Philadelphia. It was late at night and he had just finished his last drug sale of the day. "Another staggering success" he thought to himself sarcastically. He was starting to wonder if he would ever find a way out of this. Suddenly a car pulled up in front him and screeched to a halt, taking David completely by surprise. He was shocked at first, but breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the passenger door open and his friend Darnell Prince exiting the driver's seat._

_"Whoa Darnell, you damn near scared me to death." Said David, trying to act natural. "Don't you know it's rude to just pull up on someone like that? That can't be proper police procedure."_

_"I'm off the clock." Darnell responded coldly. "But it looks like you've been putting in some late hours. Get in the car."_

_"What are you talking about? I'm just taking a late night stroll. No law against that is there?" David continued to act natural even though he was starting to realize Darnell was onto him._

_This seemed to enrage Darnell. "I ain't playing with you man! Get in the fucking car!!"_

_"Alright." Said David as he got into the passenger seat. "Geez Darnell, what's your problem?"_

_"What's my problem?" Darnell asked sarcastically. "Well lets see, maybe it could be finding out that a good kid with no criminal record from an honest family has decided dealing drugs for Gerald Allen is an acceptable profession. I suppose that might be my problem."_

_David pretended to act surprised. "Oh come on! Did someone on the street tell you that? You shouldn't believe everything you hear."_

_"I know." Darnell responded. "That's why I had to see it for myself. And I already did. So you can quit playing dumb and start answering questions. What the hell are you doing dealing drugs? You've never had so much as a parking ticket."_

_David sighed. "Money. I got into major debt and I figured this would be an easy way out."_

_Darnell seemed surprised at this. "That's what this is about? Why didn't you just ask your father to bail you out? From what I hear, his construction business is doing great."_

_"I got into debt through compulsive gambling with the wrong type of people." David explained. "That's not exactly the type of thing you want your father to know. Dad's always telling everyone how proud he is of me and what a bright future I have. If he found out what I was involved in, I figure the consequences would be severe. You know how he's got a short temper."_

_"Oh come on. You know Rodney would understand and be willing to help you out of this. He'd do anything for you..." Suddenly Darnell noticed the outline of a familiar shape underneath David's shirt. "Hey what the hell is that?" he asked, pointing at the object._

_David was so nervous he didn't know how to respond. But he didn't have too. Without waiting for an answer, Darnell reached over and pulled up David's shirt, revealing a .45 caliber pistol in a shoulder holster. Enraged, he immediately ripped the pistol out of the holster and looked it over. "A gun? What the hell are you doing with this?!"_

_David sighed "I got it from one of Allen's men so I could have a little protection while I was dealing, that's all. I've never used it and I don't plan on it."_

_Darnell was furious. "So now I've got you on drug dealing and illegal weapons possession. Do you realize how serious this is? Forget about the scholarship to Penn State you earned, this is enough to send you to prison. It could ruin you! And all this over money?"_

_"Look Darnell, I don't have any excuses. If want to bust me, go ahead." Said David_

_"I don't want to bust you David." Replied Darnell. "I'm trying to help you. You need to come to the police station with me and tell all you know about Allen's and his operations. The D. A. will cut you a deal to testify against him and Allen will end up in prison where he belongs."_

_"Forget it." David responded bluntly. "That would be signing my own death warrant. Why do you think I'm still working for him? I told him I wanted to get out of the business weeks ago. He made it very clear staying on the job and keeping my mouth shut would be the only thing good for my health."_

_"So that's it. He threatened you." Darnell paused for a minute while thinking over what to do. Then he continued. "Alright David, listen up. 19 years ago your family helped me get through the hardest time in my life, and now I'm going to return the favor. I'm not going to bust you, but I'm going to get you out of this. Forget about going back to Allen. He's going to let you out of the business. I'll make sure of that. You're going to get away from him and put this whole terrible episode behind you."_

_David was shocked "Are you crazy?! What did I just tell you? You can't confront him."_

_"People like Allen think they can get away with anything, but even they have limits, and I'll make sure he knows them." Said Darnell. "Don't worry David, I know how to deal with people like him. I'll make sure he understands letting you go would very beneficial."_

_David was about to protest some more, but Darnell cut him off. "This isn't open for debate David."_

_"Alright, fine." Said David. He still didn't like Darnell's idea, but realized there was no point in arguing anymore. "Are you going to tell my dad about this?"_

_"Absolutely." Darnell replied. "But you can save me the trouble and tell him yourself. If you had done that in the first place, the situation would never have gotten this bad."_

* * *

"A few days later, Allen told me I could go. He said he wanted me out of his sight and he never wanted to see me again. And I made sure that's exactly what happened." David explained.

"That's it?" Asked Kat. "He just cut you loose? What did Darnell do to persuade him?"

"I don't know and I didn't ask. Not him or Darnell. I never spoke of this to anyone again. No one except my father, of course. I figured it would be better for me to tell him then Darnell."

"Well then, I guess we'll just have get the story from Allen himself." Said Stillman.


	5. Chapter 5

"So this is where crime kingpins end up when they reach old age." Said Scotty as he walked through the run down apartment complex where Allen was living.

"The ones who are lucky enough to reach old age, that is." Lilly replied. "Man this is place really is a wreck. It's hard to believe one of the most powerful drug lords in Philly ended up here."

"Well even a place like this probably seems nice to a man who spent 12 years of his life in prison." Pointed out Scotty. "Which is too bad for him, since the way this case is looking, he could be headed right back there."

Eventually the two detectives found the room listed as Allen's address and knocked on the door. It was answered by a rough looking man in his mid 60's. "Who the hell are you?" He asked.

"Detectives Rush and Valens," said Lilly while flashing her badge. "Are you Gerald Allen?"

"Yeah, so what if I am?" Allen shot back. "What do you want with me? I've been a straight arrow ever since I got out of prison."

"That's great, I'm sure the taxpayers are glad to know the rehabilitation efforts of the corrections system arn't a total failure." Scotty said sarcastically. "But we're not here about that. We're here because we think you may have information about a murder in the early 80's."

Allen laughed "Suppose I do. Exactly why would I want to talk to you about it?"

Lilly sighed. This was certainly one of the more frustrating aspects of her job, but then again, she didn't come to Allen's apartment expecting him to roll out the welcome mat. "Because right now you're the prime suspect in it." She answered firmly. "And if you want that to change, you'll have to cooperate. Otherwise you can expect to seeing us a lot more, and in much less friendly conditions."

"Well when you put it that way, how can I refuse?" Said Allen, keeping his hostile tone. "Come on in and sit down."

"We're here to talk to you about Darnell Prince." Scotty explained once they were all inside. "You remember him?"

"Yeah I do." Said Allen. "He was a local cop who had a beat in my neighborhood. A real pain in the ass. He was always giving me a hard time and interfering with my business."

"And one day he ends up dead." Lilly pointed out. "Pretty convenient for you wasn't it?"

Allen laughed. "So that's what you came here for? To pin an old murder on me? Sorry guys, but you might as well walk out the door right now. I was a businessman, not a killer. Murder wasn't my style. And I sure as hell ain't stupid enough to kill a cop."

"You think we're just going to take your word for it?" Asked Lilly. "Sorry Gerald, but if you want us to leave you're going to have to do a little more then that?"

Allen thought of something else. "If memory serves me correctly, Prince was killed at some jewelry store the night of Super Bowl XV, right? I spent the whole night getting drunk with a bunch of my business partners at a local night club. I was in no condition to kill anyone and I've got witnesses who will tell you I was nowhere near that store."

Scotty was not convinced. "Oh come on Allen, we know you wouldn't personally kill him. A big shot like you would use other people to carry out the hit. Just like you used misguided teenagers to deal drugs for you. Guys like David Landis."

"And Darnell wasn't happy about that." Lilly continued. "We heard shortly before he died, he had a confrontation about one Landis. Then the next day, you cut off all contact with him. We're guessing Darnell didn't convince you to let him go by asking nicely or appealing to your soft side."

"Oh, that. Yeah I gotta give the devil his due. He really knew how to drive his point home."

_

* * *

__("Fire and Ice" by Pat Benatar)_

_Allen sat on one of the barstools at his tavern, one of several businesses he owned, going through the figures of his profits for the month. It had been another productive month for his and his business, both the legal and illegal side, and he was looking forward another successful year. Suddenly he heard pounding on the front door._

"_Were closed!" He shouted angrily. "Come back later!"_

_But the pounding didn't stop, it only got louder. Getting nervous, Allen was about to reach for a gun he kept behind the bar counter when suddenly the door burst open. Allen immediately recognized the man responsible as he stormed into the bar. It was Darnell Prince, a local cop. Although right now, he was not in uniform. _

_"Well hello there Allen!" Darnell shouted. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything!"_

_Darnell looked enraged, but Allen maintained his composure. "Oh it's you." He said, keeping the emotion out of his voice. "Like I said officer, we're closed, but for Philly's finest, I'll make an exception. Take a seat and I'll pour you a cold one."_

_"I'm not here for a drink you son of a bitch!" Darnell responded. "I'm here about Landis, David Landis. You fucked up big time using him as one of your dealers! And now you're going to let him go!"_

_Allen remained emotionless. "Why officer, I have no idea what your talking about. David works for me, but I would never have him do anything against the law. If you caught him doing something illegal, I'm assure you I had nothing to do with it."_

_This answer did not satisfy Darnell at all. With a devastating blow, he punched Allen hard in the face, bloodying his nose and knocking him off his feet. "This ain't no courtroom, Gerald!" Darnell shouted as Allen struggled to get up. "And you ain't got no high priced attorney to bail you out. It's just you and me! And I'm not leaving until I get the answer I'm looking for!"_

_Allen slowly pulled himself up. "So what? You got nothing on me. If you did, I'd be in cuffs right now. So spare me the 'bad cop' act and get the hell out of here."_

_Darnell responded by grabbing Allen's throat and slamming him hard into the bar counter. Then he pulled out the .45 caliber pistol he had taken from David. "This ain't no act Allen. This is you doing what I say or I shove this pistol down your slimy little throat."_

_Now Allen was worried. He figured Darnell wasn't really going to kill him, but clearly his situation was deteriorating fast and there was only one way to improve. Besides, it was clear that Landis was no longer any use to him. "Alright. Fine, I'll tell him he's through working for me. Now get lost."_

_Darnell released his grip on Allen and started to back away. "Now see, that wasn't so hard." He said sarcastically. "See you later Allen. I'll be back when I've got enough evidence to send you to prison where you belong." Then he turned to leave._

_Allen figured he should probably just let Darnell go, but he couldn't resist pointing something out. "Hey Darnell...David didn't actually agree to give you any incriminating evidence or testimony against me, did he?" The statement caused Darnell to stop right in his tracks. Then he turned to around to face Allen with his fists clinched and an enraged look on his face. But he said nothing._

_Allen smiled "I didn't think so. Have a nice day."_

_"This isn't over Allen!" Darnell shot back. "Before you know it, the Department will have a big enough case to put you away for good!"_

_"Damn cops." Allen mumbled under his breath. "Always messing with my business instead of going after the real criminals. All I'm doing is supplying a demand."_

_"Save it Allen." Darnell replied. "You're a low life scum bag who's been poisoning my neighborhood for years, profiting off other people's misery, and using teenagers to carry out your dirty work. When the time comes, I'll be sure to be the one who puts the cuffs on you myself."_

_Allen laughed "Sure, keep telling yourself that. You've been hounding me for months and you've got nothing to show for it."_

_"The only reason we can't built a case against you is because you got people in the department on your payroll." Darnell said. "It's the only explanation for how you're always one step ahead of us. Rest assured Gerald, I'll find them. And when I do, they'll be all too happy to rat you out in exchange for a deal. Like I said Allen, it's only a matter of time."_

_With that, Darnell turned around and stormed out._

* * *

"So let me see if I understand this," Said Scotty after Allen finished his story, "One day, Darnell just barges into your tavern, beats you up, shoves a gun in your face, makes you do what he wants, and threatens to crush your entire operation. Does that pretty much sum it up?"

"Yeah that's the gist of it." Said Allen. "Guess you didn't know your dead 'hero' cop had a mean streak."

"And after all that, you want us to believe you didn't have anything to do with his death?" Lilly asked. "I hate to break it to you Gerald, but that seems a little hard to swallow."

"Like I said, I was a businessman, not a killer." Allen reminded them. "Murdering a cop would be very bad for business. It would have brought all kinds of heat down on my operation. Definitely not what I needed."

"Well you're story is still kind of hard to believe. I mean you were a major crime boss, one of Philly's top made men. You want us to believe that you would let some rank-and-file cop barge into your tavern and beat you into doing what he wants. I figure a guy like you would take something like that very personally."

"Personal issues in my line of work were irrelevant." Allen explained. "My goal was to stay in business, something that have been very difficult to do if I had tried to take on the police over something that minor. Besides, Darnell's beating had nothing to do with my decision. Now that a cop had caught Landis dealing, he was useless to me. If I had continued to employ him, the cops could put a tail on him and use him to build a case against me."

"Well the cops did end up building a case against you." Said Lilly. "One good enough to destroy your operation and send you to prison for 12 years."

"That wasn't until 1984." Allen countered. "Darnell had been dead for years and I didn't have any further contact with Landis. My eventual arrest had nothing to do with either one of them, just like I didn't have anything to do with Darnell's death. So if you've got nothing else, I'd appreciate if you left."

"Okay Allen, just one more thing." Said Scotty as the two detectives got up to leave. "Darnell said you had someone in the department on your payroll. Did you?"

"Even if I did, why would I want to tell you?" Asked Allen.

"Darnell said he was onto whoever it was." Scotty explained. If that's true, whoever was receiving your bribes would have a motive to silence him forever. And if he acted on his own, it would put you in the clear."

Allen was not convinced. "Bullshit, they would just claim I ordered them to do it and you would believe them. Ever since you came here you've made it clear that your mind is made up. You think I killed Darnell and obviously there isn't anything I can do to convince you otherwise. So unless I'm under arrest, get the hell out!"

* * *

"Well that was pleasant." Said Lilly once she and Scotty had left the apartment. "So you really think someone on the force set up the hit on Darnell? That's a pretty disturbing thought."

"Well it's happened before." Scotty pointed out. "Besides, back when we started the investigation, Stillman pointed out that whoever set up the hit had to know where Darnell would be at the time. Who else but someone in the Department would know? And remember, the theory in the original investigation was that the person who killed Darnell may have been wearing body armor. Not many people other then the police would have access to that. Look maybe it wasn't a cop. Maybe it was a dispatcher or a civilian employee, but the evidence pointing to someone in the department is just too strong to ignore."

"Well then I guess we'd better get to work finding out if anyone in Darnell's precinct was taking bribes back in 81'. Let me tell you though, if this line of the investigation winds up as a dead end, I won't be disappointed."


	6. Chapter 6

Back at the Philadelphia police department, the entire Cold Case squad was assembled and going over records from Darnell's precinct in 1981, hoping to find some evidence of someone receiving bribes from Gerald Allen. After several hours, Stillman came to check on their progress.

"I just got off the phone with the crime lab," Stillman said as he entered the area. "Marcus Rothman's fingerprints do not match the prints on Darnell's revolver. So we know he's not our shooter."

"That doesn't mean he wasn't involved," Lilly pointed out. "He could have been the one who made the phone call to the police."

"True, but right now we don't have a shred of evidence to support that. So until we get some, we have to move on. Meanwhile, I'd like to know what you guys have found from the records of Darnell's precinct."

"Not much," Responded Lilly. "Quite a few people in the station back then were investigated for receiving bribes and there were a few convictions. Also we've found some employees with very questionable financial records. But we haven't found anything specific to link anyone to Gerald Allen."

"Okay, refresh my memory here. Are we even sure there actually was someone in the department on Allen's payroll?" Stillman asked.

"Boss, other then the self-serving statement from an incarcerated felon, we still don't even have any evidence the shootout in 81' wasn't a botched robbery," Scotty replied. "As for the department, we've been over these records again and again, and links to Allen just aren't showing up. If Allen was bribing someone, he was very good at covering his tracks."

"What we really need is to talk with someone who was in the department back then," said Kat. "But it would have to be someone we're sure wasn't involved in any of the corruption themselves. Someone with an excellent service record."

"Yeah, also it says here Allen's arrest and conviction was the result of a special team of officers put together specifically to crush his Drug trafficking operations. Jeffries added. "I think we should talk with someone on that task force. They spent months investigating his operations from every angle, so there's a chance they might have found some evidence of his bribery, even if no one was officially charged."

Stillman thought about the recommendations from his detectives for a minute, then he smiled. "I think I know someone who perfectly fits both descriptions."

* * *

"Hello Mrs. Stanton, I'm Lt. John Stillman," said Stillman as he welcomed Laura into the precinct. "I'd like to thank you for coming down here on such a short notice."

"Oh don't mention it Lieutenant; like I told your detectives earlier, I'd do anything to help solve Darnell's case." Then she laughed. "And to think, when I put in my retirement papers, I assured my husband that I was done with police work for good. But I'm sure he'll understand. So anyway, what can I help with?"

"Well, we think there is a chance that whoever killed Darnell in 81' may have been involved with Gerald Allen," Kat explained. "And since you were on the force that eventually took down Allen's trafficking operation, we think you might be able to help us identify him."

Upon hearing this, Laura's cheerful attitude changed to bitter anger. "So that scumbag Allen may have gotten Darnell killed? Well in that case I'd be more then happy to point you in the right direction. You know, the only reason I requested to be assigned to the task force building a case against him was because of Darnell. Putting Allen out of business was something he talked about all the time. After he was killed, I felt I owed it to him to help carry it out myself. I wanted it to be his legacy."

"You certainly pulled it off," said Stillman. "I've looked over the files. Your contribution to the case was pretty impressive, especially considering the fact that you were the youngest officer assigned to the task force against him. All the others in it had at least 10 years on the job. How'd you get such a high profile assignment with only a few years of experience anyway?"

"Well, after the 81' shootout, I sort of became a celebrity in the department, and they were pretty much willing to grant any assignment I asked for." Laura closed her eyes and turned away. "They made it seem like I was some sort of hero. But it was total bullshit. Darnell was the real hero of the Super Bowl shootout. All I did was save my own ass."

"And take down one of Philly's most brutal and elusive killers." Jeffries pointed out. "The D. A. had a spent a lot of time looking for a way to convict Eddie Ransen of something. Then in one night, you took him off the streets for good."

"You ever lost a partner, detective?" Laura asked in a slightly hostile tone. "Putting away a dangerous criminal didn't give me much comfort when I was standing over Darnell's body. I never should have left him alone. I should have disobeyed his order to chase Ransen down. If I had, I'm sure he'd still be alive. After the shootout, I spent the next several months hoping that the D. A. could find some way to cut a deal and make Ransen talk, that my actions that night would at the very least lead to the arrest of Darnell's killer. But neither the prosecutor nor Eddie was willing to give an inch."

Stillman realized now would be a good time to change the subject. "Anyway Mrs. Stanton, we're thinking Darnell may have been killed by someone in the department who was being bribed by Allen. But we haven't been able to find any link to him by looking through old records. So we were wondering if you found any evidence of bribery in the department during your original investigation of Allen's activities."

Laura paused for a moment in deep thought, then she answered. "Yeah, I think I might be able to help you. Back in the day we figured there was a good chance Allen had an inside man. It would certainly explain why our raids on his offices and stores rarely turned up any evidence."

"So did you find any suspects?" asked Lilly.

"Yes. A cop named Byron Wilford," Laura explained. "He worked in the evidence room and he handled a some of the evidence we collected against Allen. Evidence that had an unusual habit of turning out to be "inconclusive" by the time it reached the crime lab. He was also involved in several of the raids and we conducted against Allen's offices and businesses. Raids that we were based on solid probable cause and we were sure would give us some valuable evidence, but ended up giving us nothing. We had a feeling Wilford was tipping Allen off and letting him know to move or hide his goods before the searches took place. Wilford's finances also raised a lot of red flags. From what we could tell, he was living well beyond the means of a cop's salary."

"So what happened?" asked Vera.

"Before we could get enough evidence to make a case against Byron, he quit the force and moved away. We kept tabs on him after he left. For a short time, we hoped that he was still on Allen's payroll and we could still use Wilford to build a case against him, but we came up with nothing. I think he cut off all contact with Allen after he left the force. After Wilford left, our investigation took a turn for the better. Our searches starting turning up some real good leads and before too long, Allen was in prison and his drug trafficking operation was finished." Then Laura smiled. "That was one of my proudest moments as a cop. Sitting in the courtroom when the jury foreman read the guilty verdict. All I could think was 'We did it Darnell, we did it for you'."

"You said you kept track of Wilford after he quit," said Stillman. What did he do after he left?"

"He got a job working for the Brinks security company right here in Philly." Laura laughed. "Kind of ironic isn't it? A guy like that got a job protecting cash and valuables. Anyway he's the only guy in our precinct who we suspected was being bribed by Allen, so if you think Allen was involved in Darnell's death, Wilford might be a good person to talk to."

* * *

"Hello gentleman, how may I help you?" a middle aged man behind the desk asked as Vera and Jeffries walked into the Brinks Corporation building.

"Detectives Vera and Jeffries," said Vera as the two detectives showed their badges. "Are you Byron Wilford?"

Now the man seemed a bit nervous, but he maintained his friendly demeanor. "Yes I am, how may I help you?"

"We need to have a word with you about Gerald Allen. Your old activities with him have surfaced in one of our investigations." Said Jefferies.

Now Wilford's friendly attitude was gone. "I don't know what you're talking about." He said coldly. "I had nothing to do with Allen."

"That's not what we heard," said Jeffries. "We talked to some old cops in your precinct and we hear you were on his payroll."

Wilford laughed. "So what if they did? Those guys couldn't prove anything against me back in the 80's. So I'm pretty sure you can't prove anything over 20 years later. Stop wasting my time and go home."

"Well they may not have been able to make a criminal case against you. But they did take note of your suspicious activities and finances," explained Vera. "Maybe your bosses here at Brinks would like to hear about them. It might make them re-think weather or not you can be trusted to handle other people's money."

That comment caused Wilford to re-think his position. "Okay, okay. I get it," he said in fearful voice. "There's an office in back where we can talk in private."

* * *

"Now let's start over," said Vera as soon as the men were in the private office. "And you better be honest with us or your supervisor is going to find a report of your questionable police activities in his suggestion box."

Wilford sighed. "Okay, yeah I was being bribed by Allen. It was real good money, and since I was just a low level guy in the evidence room, it was several years before my activities drew any attention. But when the department formed that task force to take down Allen, it wasn't long before they were onto me. I figured it was time to cash in my chips and get out of the game while I was still ahead...and alive. Why do you guys care about this anyway?"

"We don't," answered Jeffries. "If all you did was take bribes over 25 years ago, then you have nothing to worry about. But we have a feeling you did a hell of a lot more."

"Like what?"

"Like get involved in the death of Darnell Prince," said Vera. "We heard he was onto to you. Maybe he got a little too close and you decided you had to take him out. Or maybe Allen ordered you to do it."

"Now wait a minute!" said Wilford defensively. "First of all, I was greedy, but I wasn't a killer. I'd never kill another cop. And second of all, Prince may have suspected someone in the department was being bribed, but he had no idea it was me."

"What makes you so sure?"

"Because if he had found out what I was doing, chances are I'd be the one who ended up dead, not him." Wilford answered. "I didn't know Darnell too well, but I knew he was the straightest arrow on the force. A real boy scout. He no tolerance for dirty cops."

"Really? From what we heard, Darnell had a habit of giving people a second chance," Vera pointed out. "Maybe he caught you in the act and gave you a chance to change your ways. But you figured it would be more profitable to just take him out."

"Not a chance." Wilford insisted. "Prince would never have done that. If he had the slightest suspicion I was taking bribes, he would have taken me down in an instant. He may have been willing to help out low level thugs on the street, but not corrupt cops like me."

Vera decided it was time to try another approach. "You know Byron; we checked the duty roster from the night Darnell was killed. You were not on duty that night, and there is no accounting for where you were. And of course you know we still have your finger prints on file. We've already sent them to the crime lab to compare them with the prints we found on Darnell's revolver, so if there is anything you want to say before we get the report from the lab, now's the time to do it."

"I got nothing to hide. You won't find my prints on that gun because I didn't kill Darnell. And so what if I wasn't on duty that night? I didn't even work the same shift as Darnell and I worked in the evidence room, not on the streets. I had no idea where Darnell was going to be. Even if I did want him dead, I wouldn't know where to find him when he was on patrol, much less kill him. Why are you guys even concerned with personal motives anyway? From what I remember, the shootout that killed Darnell was nothing but a robbery."

"Because we found new evidence that suggests it wasn't," answered Vera.

"Well if that's the case, I can think of someone you might look at. But it's not me. You guys check out someone Darnell knew really well. A guy named Rodney Landis."

Jeffries laughed. "That's the best you can do? Nice try Byron, but we already know about Rodney Landis, and from what we heard, Rodney and Darnell were the best of friends."

"Yeah, that's what I thought too," said Wilford. But when I saw them together outside the police station, they didn't seem to be on friendly terms at all."

_

* * *

__("Southern Cross" by Crosby, Stills, and Nash)_

_Wilford stood in a dark corner of the police station parking lot, puffing away on a cigarette. There was still about 15 minutes left before he had to check in for work and he figured he had time to enjoy a few smokes. Suddenly he noticed officer Darnell Prince and his partner, Laura Stanton, exit the station. They were engaged in conversation and did not notice him._

_"...Well I gotta hurry up and get home," said Laura as she headed for her car. "See you tomorrow Darnell."_

_"Hey wait a minute!" shouted Darnell as he went after her. "You're not going anywhere until you agree to come to the Super Bowl party at my house on Sunday. I'm telling you Laura, weather or not you're a football fan, you're going to love it."_

_Laura stopped and sighed. "I don't know. I told you, my husband has to work that night. It just doesn't seem right to go out to a party without him."_

_Darnell laughed. "Oh come on Laura, who cares? Half the guys from our shift are going to be there, and most of them aren't bringing their wives. It's not some formal occasion. Besides, what else would you be doing that night? Sitting at home alone playing Space Invaders?"_

_"Hey! If blasting away at alien ships is my idea of a good time, then so be it. Who are you to judge?" Laura sarcastically replied._

_Darnell rolled his eyes "Look, just think of it as a chance to hang out with your co-workers and enjoy some good food and free beer. Your Atari will still be there when you get back."_

_Laura finally gave in. "Okay fine, I'll be there. Now I gotta get out of here, it's been a long day."_

_Laura got into her car and drove away, while Darnell walked toward his own vehicle. But before he reached it, he was suddenly confronted by a man who exited a car parked nearby._

_Darnell seemed happy to see the man. "Hey Rodney. Nice to see you, what are you doing here?" he asked in a friendly voice._

_"I need to talk to you about David," Rodney replied bluntly. "He told me everything. About his debts, the drug dealing, and how you caught him."_

_"That's great," Said Darnell. "I was hoping he would tell you about it and save me the trouble. I knew deep down he's a good kid and he won't make the mistake of getting involved in crime again."_

_Now Rodney seemed concerned. "He also said you were going to confront Gerald Allen and force him to let David go. Please tell me you haven't done that yet."_

_"Relax Rod; I already took care of the problem. David will not be working for Allen anymore. I made sure Allen saw the logic of letting him go and got my point across using language he would clearly understand."_

_Now Rodney was furious. "I can't believe you did that! Are you trying to get David killed?! What if Allen decides putting a bullet in David's head would be better then risking the possibility of him telling someone about his drug operations?"_

_"That's not going to happen," Darnell assured him. "Allen wouldn't dare harm David after our confrontation. He's knows that if he did, I'd bring the wrath of the police down on him like a ton of bricks. Trust me Rodney, David is perfectly safe."_

_"You don't know that for sure," Rodney replied. Then he started to pace back and fourth angrily. "Dammit Darnell, I'm glad you found out David was dealing drugs and stopped him, but you shouldn't have confronted Allen about it. You should have come to me and we could have worked out a solution together."_

_Now Darnell was angry. "Don't tell me what I should have done, you ungrateful bastard! I'm a cop and I caught your son red handed dealing drugs! What I should have done was throw his ass in prison! But I gave him another chance because I know he's a good kid and it isn't too late for him to turn his life around."_

_"Oh spare me your self-righteous nonsense." Rodney shot back. "Your 'noble' quest to save David from a life of crime sure as hell won't mean much when you and your pals are pulling his battered corpse out of a dumpster. Your little meeting with Allen was way too reckless and you should have known better."_

_"Allen won't do anything to harm David." Darnell repeated. "You just have to trust me."_

_"Listen to me Darnell. You know I consider you a family member, but David is my own flesh and blood. He's all I've got. You're taking a major gamble with his life and I'm not going to stand for it. If you keep putting his life in jeopardy, I'll do anything it takes to protect my son!!"_

_With that, Rodney angrily stormed back to his car and drove away._

* * *

"I never told anyone about the incident." Wilford explained. "It would implicate Allen and I wasn't about to do that while I was taking his bribes. Besides, the investigators said Darnell's death was caused by a botched robbery, so I didn't think it was relevant."

"Well it seems relevant to us," Said Vera. "Rodney really said he'd do 'anything' huh?"

"Yep, those were his exact words," Wilford replied

"I wonder if that includes murder."


	7. Chapter 7

"So you detectives are here about Darnell Prince," said the now 64-year old Rodney Landis as he invited Lilly and Scotty into his house. "I'm glad to hear your re-opening the case. Darnell was a very close friend of mine and I'd be happy to see his killer held accountable. What can I do for you?"

"Well we have a new lead that suggests Darnell's death may have been caused by someone who knew him," explained Scotty. "So were checking into his old acquaintances."

This made Landis suspicious. "Old acquaintances? You mean like me? Am I a suspect?"

"Well the thing is, you seem to be just about the only close friend Darnell had back in the day," said Lilly.

Rodney laughed a bit. "Yeah well Darnell was totally dedicated to his job. Always trying to catch the bad guys or teach some new recruits how to make a felony arrest without ending up in a hospital. Any time some new cop joined the force, Darnell would always volunteer to take them under his wing. It didn't leave a lot of time for personal relationships."

"Plus we heard about an incident that took place in the police station parking lot shortly before Darnell was killed. You and he got into an argument about his intervention into your son's drug dealing. You seemed really upset about it."

"Oh that," Rodney sighed. "So you know all about David and Gerald Allen, I assume."

"Yes we do," Lilly replied. "It was interesting how you were waiting in the parking lot for Darnell as he got off work to talk to him about it. It seems like you knew his work schedule really well. You knew exactly where he was going to be."

"Yeah we both visited each other at work sometimes, so what?" Landis asked.

"So maybe you would know where he was if you wanted to kill him," Scotty pointed out. "And you would have the resources to pull it off. Back in 81' you were a senior executive at one of Philly's most successful construction companies. From what we hear, you were making out very well."

"So I was rich and informed of my friend's work habits. Does that make me a killer?"

"No, but telling Darnell you would do 'Anything it takes' to protect your son shortly before he was gunned down sure makes you a good candidate. You got three strikes Rodney: motive, means, and opportunity."

"You're way off base detective!" Landis shot back angrily. "Yes I had an argument with Darnell about his confrontation with Gerald Allen. I thought he was putting my son in danger and I was very upset about it. Who wouldn't be? But after I went home, I took some time to think over what Darnell told me. About how he could have easily arrested David and destroyed his career prospects, but didn't do it. It made me realize he really did have David's best interests in mind. I was still worried a bit about his confrontation with Allen, but he had assured me Allen would not harm David, and I figured it would be reasonable to trust him. After all, Darnell was one of the most dependable people I ever knew."

"So that's it huh? After threatening Darnell in the parking lot, you just went home and changed your views on a whim?" Asked Scotty.

"I just needed some time to think it through," Rodney explained. "The next day, I called Darnell and apologized. We talked about the situation and by the time we were through, we were back on friendly terms, which is something I'm very grateful for to this day. It would have been a painful memory if our parking lot dispute had been the last time I had talked to Darnell while he was alive. Instead, the last time I met with Darnell was a very happy occasion."

"And when exactly was that?" Asked Lilly.

"At a Super Bowl party Darnell held at his house a week before the game. The last time the Eagles made it to a championship game was when me and him were both kids, so when they finally won the NFC title, he felt it was very fitting to celebrate the occation."

Rodney smiled while decribing the event, looking as though he was thinking about a pleasant memory. "Darnell threw one hell of a party. A lot of his friends from the force and his fellow troops from his National Guard unit were there. I brought a few co-workers from my job as well. I still remember that event as if it was yesterday. The food, the music, the good times. It really felt like heaven..."

* * *

("_Centerfold" by The J. Geils Band)_

_With music blaring and a house full of guests, Darnell's party was in full swing. Rodney could not remember a time he had ever seen Darnell so happy. But then again, celebrating an Eagles trip to the Super Bowl was something they had been waiting to see for years._

"_A toast to the great Philadelphia Eagles!" shouted Darnell as he raised his drink in the air, "the only team that could ever win an NFC championship game with a quarterback who only completes 9 of 29 passes!"_

_Several of his guests responded by raising their glasses in the air, laughing, and cheering. "Hell yeah Darnell," shouted Rodney. "The next stop is a Super Bowl championship. Remember when Philly beat the Raiders in the regular season? I think they sacked Jim Plunkett about 10 times by the time it was over."_

_"Actually it was eight," Darnell corrected him, "but yeah it was a game for the ages. Philly's defensive line spent as much time in the Oakland backfield as Plunkett. I'm telling you, the Eagles are going to dominate the Super Bowl. Oakland doesn't stand a chance!"_

_Darnell put down his empty glass and was about to go for another drink when Rodney stopped him. "Hey Darnell, on a more serious note, I just wanted to thank you again for not arresting and David. I know I was upset about it before, but now I realize you were really helping him."_

_"Don't worry about it Rod," Darnell replied. "What's done is done. In a few months, Dave will be off at college and we can all forget about the whole thing."_

_"Thanks Darnell. You know I didn't mean what I said back in the parking lot. It's just the thought of what Allen could do to David scared the hell out me. You'll understand when you've got kids of your own."_

_Darnell roared with laughter. "Me? Kids? Come on Rod, we both know that's never going to happen. I've got no prospects on the horizon and I'm not getting any younger. Watching David grow up is about the closest thing to fatherhood I'll ever see."_

_"Oh don't be so quick to write yourself off, Darnell. After all, I remember just a few years ago, you seemed sure the Eagles would never make it to the Super Bowl before you reached middle age...""_

_Suddenly Darnell and Rodney's conversation was interrupted by a guest at the party. "Hey Prince, I think you might want to check on Laura. It looks like she's had a bit too much to drink."_

_Darnell looked surprised to hear this. "Alright. You'll have to excuse me Rod, hehe, duty calls."_

_Darnell made his way through the crowded living room full of guests to find Laura in an isolated corner of the room, throwing up in a trash can. "Hey Stanton, are you alright?" he asked._

_Laura looked up at him with glazed over eyes. And as soon as she started talking, the smell of alcohol was overwhelming. "Y-yeah, n-n-no problem Darnell. I'm just a little sick that's all."_

_Darnell laughed. "By 'sick' you must mean drunk as hell. Man, you look worse then the subject of our last DUI arrest. How much have you had tonight?"_

_Laura stumbled away from the trash can, barely able to stand. "Umm...c-c-ould you give me a few minutes on that question? I'm not really in the mood for math at the m-m--moment..."_

_Darnell sighed. "Alright that's it, come on upstairs Laura. You've had way too much and you need to lie down." With that he put an arm around her waist and half-dragged her towards the stairs._

_"Oh come on D-d-arnell," She protested. "Don't let me interupt your party. I just need a few minutes to c-c-catch my breath and I'll be okay."_

_"What you need to do is lie down and sober up. You know there's no use arguing with me Laura. Not in the patrol car, and damn sure not in my own house. And in case you were wondering, I do still have my duty cuffs on me." Darnell replied. He seemed somewhat upset at the situation, but there was a bit of sarcasm in his voice._

_"Hey Prince!" Shouted one of the party guests as Darnell started helping Laura up the stairs, "where are you headed off too?"_

_Darnell smiled and turned back to face the guests at his party "Apparently my partner here has decided to indulge herself in the festivities a bit too much and needs to lie down." He replied. "I'll only be gone a few minutes guys. Then we'll have the rest of the night to bask in the Eagles' championship glory!"_

_Once again the guests at the party raised their drinks and cheered as Darnell helped Laura up the stairs and out of sight._

* * *

"Hold on a second," said Scotty, cutting Rodney off in the middle of his story. "What happened after he took Laura upstairs?"

"About 25 minutes or so later he came back down and returned to the party. Why do you ask?" Replied Rodney.

This answer only seemed to make Scotty more suspicious. "What was he doing up there for that long?"

"How should I know?" Asked Rodney. "Knowing Darnell, he probably stayed upstairs for a bit to make sure Laura didn't pass out and choke on her own vomit. What else would he be doing up there?"

"Oh come on, Rodney, we both know. You must have had some suspicions."

"What are you talking about?" Rodney asked.

Now Scotty chose to elaborate. "Darnell was 36 years old. He was addicted to his job and had no wife, no girlfriend, no family, and only a few close friends. Maybe upstairs with his hot young female partner in a drunken stupor, he decided to take advantage of the situation and help himself to..."

This time it was Landis who cut Scotty off in mid-sentence. "That's absurd!" Landis shouted, practically jumping out his seat. "In addition to being drunk, Laura was his partner and she was married. Darnell would never mess around with someone else on the force or another man's wife!"

Scotty remained calm. "Well maybe not normally, but when a situation like that presents it to yourself, it can be very tempting. And you said Darnell had a few drinks that night too..."

By now Rodney was in a total fit of rage. "I am not going to sit here and listen this empty-headed nonsense anymore!" he shouted. "You detectives are supposed to be tracking down Darnell's killer! Not dragging his good name through the dirt! Darnell didn't do anything wrong at the party, and I can prove it!

"Really?" Lilly cut in. "How?"

"After a few minutes, another guest at the party got concerned and went up to check on them. He also came back down with Darnell. His name is Larry Tyler. He was the senior NCO in Darnell's National Guard unit and was a retired cop who did 23 years on the job. The man has just as much integrity as Darnell did, and if he caught Darnell doing something wrong he would not have tolerated it!"

After providing the two detectives with Larry Tyler's address, Rodney Landis angrily ordered both of them to leave his house

* * *

"Wow, David wasn't kidding when he said his father had a short temper," said Lilly when they were outside. "Still he did have a point. Darnell doesn't seem like a person who would take advantage of anyone, much less someone close to him."

"Maybe so, but we have to look into this," Scotty replied. "After all Darnell did seem rather insistent about making sure Laura went to his party. If something was going on between them, maybe it could reveal something that we've overlooked so far. Let's head over to Tyler's house and see if he can give us the real story."


	8. Chapter 8

Larry Tyler was an aging man is his early 70's, but he seemed very fit and energetic and pleased to see the two detectives after they had called to set up a meeting.

"Come on in detectives," he said as he welcomed them into his house. " Hmmm... Darnell Prince. Now that's a name I haven't heard in a long time. Really a shame when you think about it. I feel like I was the only person in our National Guard unit who developed a strong relationship with him. To most other guys there, he was just another face they saw one weekend a month."

As Tyler led Scotty and Lilly through his house, they noticed the living room was filled with firearms, neatly stacked and stored in locked glass display cases. "That's quite a gun collection you have, Mr. Tyler." Scotty remarked.

Tyler smiled. "Ah yes, that was our shared passion," He said. "Me and Darnell really had a thing for guns. We'd meet at the range all the time, always exchanging, trading, and testing our weapons and talking about the best gun out there. You know, I've still got a few of his guns that he traded with me before he was killed. It feels good to bring them out to the range. This may sound silly, but I guess it's my way of keeping his memory alive."

This comment caused Lilly to think of something. "Really? Did he trade or lend you any guns right before he was killed. Like within a few weeks before the event?"

"As a matter of fact, he did lend me one right around then." Tyler replied. "Here let me show you. Just two weeks or so before he was killed, Darnell lent me something that's now one of my most prized firearms."

Tyler unlocked one of the display cases and pulled out a classic M1911 .45 caliber pistol. Despite its age, it seemed in near perfect condition. He handed it to Lilly and watched as she looked it over. "A real beauty isn't it?" Tyler asked. "The 1911 has always been one of my favorite models, which is probably why Darnell let me have it. And the one he lent me was truly one of a kind. I've put a lot of effort into maintaining it, and after all these years it still fires like a charm."

"Did Darnell ever say where he got it from?" Asked Lilly.

"Nope, and sadly I never got around to asking. I hope there isn't anything wrong with me deciding to keep it. I mean, if Darnell had any family members I would have turned it over to them. But since he didn't and he had no will that mentioned what to do with his property, I figured it would be okay if hung onto it. I figure I had as much right to it as anyone else."

"Don't worry Mr. Tyler, that's not why we're here." Lilly assured him. "But still, would you mind if we took this gun as evidence? It could be important in our investigation."

Tyler seemed confused, as did Scotty. "I don't understand. What does this have to do with Darnell's death?" Asked Tyler. "He let me have this well before he was killed and its been with me the whole time."

"We're not sure." Lilly replied. "But there's a chance it may be relevant to our investigation. So if you would just let us take it as evidence, it would be very helpful. We'll let you have it back if it's of no importance to us."

"Sure. After all, it was Darnell's gun. If it could help you solve his murder, then you are welcome to it. Just wait here and I'll get you a carrying case for it."

Tyler left the two detectives in the living room alone while he went to fetch a case for the weapon. "Lilly, what does this gun have to do with our investigation?" Asked Scotty as soon as Tyler left.

"I'm not sure," Lilly replied. "But I think this is the pistol Darnell took from David Landis. It explains why it was never found in Darnell's house."

"Well maybe, but even if it is the same gun, if it was here the whole time, then it obviously wasn't involved in the shootout that got Darnell killed. Besides, Darnell wasn't killed by a .45 caliber pistol. He was killed with his own .38 service revolver. The ballistics report has already confirmed it," Scotty pointed out.

"I know, but all the same it's kind of odd how this gun keeps turning up again and again," Lilly replied. "First Darnell took it off David, then he used it to threaten Gerald Allen, and now we find it at the house of an old associate. It could be that this gun has a much bigger significance then anyone has realized..."

Lilly was interrupted by Tyler, who returned with a plastic gun case. "Okay here you go," He said as he put the gun in the case, "I'm not sure what you expect, but I hope the gun helps. Now what are you here to talk about?"

"We're here to ask about an incident that occurred at Darnell's Super Bowl party a week before he was killed," answered Scotty. "Do you remember that party at all?"

Tyler smiled. "Oh yeah, that was a very memorable occasion. In addition to guns, another common thing we shared was a love of the Eagles. I was one of the first people who showed up at the party and the last to leave. I had a great time there. All the same, it made the Eagle's crushing defeat and Darnell's death even harder to handle."

"Well there was a specific incident during that party we would like to ask about," Scotty continued. "At one point, Darnell's partner on the force, Laura Stanton, got really drunk and Darnell took her upstairs away from everyone else. We heard from another guest that you went up there shortly after to check on them and we were wondering..."

"...If I caught Darnell doing something he shouldn't have?" Interrupted Tyler. Then he chuckled to himself. "I suppose I can't blame you for suspecting that. As a former cop myself, I know there is a tendency for investigators to always assume the worst in people. But let me assure you detectives, nothing inappropriate took place at that party, hehe, well nothing unless you count a bunch of adults staying up all night drinking and acting like a bunch of teenage fools to celebrate their favorite sports team."

* * *

_("Lights" by Journey)_

_Shortly after Darnell took Laura upstairs, Tyler went up after them to make sure everything was alright. He noticed an open door to a room upstairs and peeked in. Upon looking in, he saw Laura laying in a bed with Darnell standing over her._

_"Oh man..." Laura moaned, "my head is killing me. I guess I really put down a few too many drinks tonight."_

_Darnell laughed. "Really, you think so? You look like you just took a hit from Herman Edwards. You know, when I encouraged you to enjoy the free beer, this wasn't what I had in mind."_

_"I'm sorry D-Darnell. I really screwed up didn't I? I guess this shows I'm not as responsible as I should be."_

_"Don't worry about it Laura." Darnell assured her. "You're not the first cop I've known who got too drunk at one of my parties. Just relax and be grateful we're not on duty tomorrow."_

_Tyler__ decided this was a good time to speak up. "Hey is everything alright in here?" He asked._

_Darnell turned around to face him. "Yeah, it's all good. Could you give Laura a ride home in a few hours? She's obviously in no condition to drive anywhere for a while."_

_"No problem Darnell, come on lets head back. You got a party to finish."_

_"Okay", Darnell then turned back to Laura. "You gonna be alright, Laura?"_

_"Y-Yeah I'll manage." Laura replied, sitting up slightly. "Just go back and enjoy your party. I'll be damned if I'm the one to ruin the whole thing..."_

_"That's one heck of a partner you've got there." Remarked Tyler as they left the room and headed back. "Looks like she really looks up to you."_

_"Yeah and she really loves the job." Darnell replied. "I've rarely seen someone with as much dedication as her when they first start on the beat. She's going to be one of the best officers we've got. No question about it."_

_"Well having you as her partner is certainly a contributing factor."_

_This comment caused Darnell to stop in the hallway. "Oh spare me. I'm so sick of everyone acting like I'm David Starsky. I'm just as human as everyone else on the force. And lately it seems like I can't do anything right."_

_"Whoa hold on a second. What are you talking about?" Asked Tyler_

_"Forget it Larry. You wouldn't understand."_

_"Come on Darnell, I did 23 years on the job myself. Just tell me what's going on."_

_"I'm just getting a bit sick of my hardass reputation." Darnell explained. "Tough old Darnell. The guy who shows no mercy to criminals and is always ready to lay down the law. It's tough to maintain when you run into a situation involving someone you know. Someone doing something wrong, but with potential to do so much more good with a second chance."_

_Larry Smiled. "Oh I get it. You caught someone you knew breaking the law and decided to cut them a break. Exercised your police discretion in a way most officers wouldn't."_

_"Yeah for once I decided not to go by the book," Darnell explained, "I caught a smart but misguided kid dealing drugs and decided to let it go. I figured it would be just a one time thing that I could forget about, but I can't stop wondering weather or not I did the right thing. And since then, it's been causing me nothing but problems."_

_"So that's it. You decided not to make him another casualty in the 'war on drugs'._

_Darnell laughed a bit at this remark. "War on drugs. What a fucking joke. All it's done is fill our prisons with people who've done nothing but harm their own bodies. Meanwhile it's turned scumbags like Gerald Allen into millionares who get to sit back and watch us put away the small fries. I'm just tired of it all. Remember all the stories you told me about your father when he was a cop back during prohibition? The bootlegging, big city crime lords, the bribery and corruption? They made for great stories, but I sure as hell didn't want to experience it for myself. But now it seems I've managed to walk right into it and there's no way out."_

_"Well that's the nature of the job, Darnell," said Tyler. "Sometimes you run into a situation where there is no "perfect" answer or course of action. You've been on the force long enough to know that. Look, whatever you did, I'm sure you based your judgment on what you knew about the law and what you thought was right. At the end of the day, sometimes that's the best you can do."_

_Darnell sighed, "Yeah I suppose..."_

_"Come on Darnell, you're thinking way too much into this. Even if it was mistake, you've been on the force 13 years. You're allowed to make one every once in while. You just need put it behind you and move on. I was there back when you first started, and I remember you were always one of the best. There is no way one little incident is going to change that."_

_"Yeah your right." Replied Darnell. "Well I guess we better head back. I wouldn't want to keep my guests waiting."_

_With that, the two men headed back downstairs._

* * *

"That was pretty much it." Tyler concluded. "Nothing else really substantive happened that night, and I would know if it did. I was one of the last people who left the party that night. Of course, little did I know it was the last time I would ever see Darnell again. And to think he was in such high spirits as he said good bye that night, telling us about how he was going to check in to work just a few hours after the game, and how it was going to be the best day on the job he ever experienced in years..."

This caught Scotty's attention. "Hold on a second!" He interrupted. "Darnell told everyone at the party when he was going to work on the night of the game?"

"Everyone who was still there at the end of the party, yes." Larry replied. "He told us all about it. When he was checking in and where he was going to be. He wanted to know if any one of us would be in his patrol area at the time so he could say hello and share a moment of celebration. I feel so bad for him. He was so sure the Eagles would win. Of course we all know how it really turned out, and the Eagles loss turned out to be the least of his problems."

"Mr. Tyler, this is very important," said Lilly in a stern voice. "Do you remember who was still at the party when Darnell said this?"

"Well let's see..." said Larry, trying hard to remember."It was late and there were not too many people left at the house. Mostly just his closest friends like me. But there was one guy I remember because he really seemed out of place the whole night."

"Who was that?" Asked Scotty.

"Some guy from the force that Darnell invited. Darnell told me he didn't know him too well, but he wanted to have him over because he seemed like somewhat of a loner on the job and he figured maybe he could use a little time out with his co-workers. I can't recall his name too well. Baron, Byron or something.

"Byron?" asked Scotty. "You mean Byron Wilford?"

"Yeah that's it," said Tyler, a bit more sure of himself now. "I know this seems kind of funny, but I think the main reason Darnell invited him is because he felt sorry for him. He figured a party with his fellow officers was exactly what he needed. And I guess he enjoyed it since he was there till the very end."

* * *

"So, Byron lied to us". Remarked Scotty as he and Lilly left the house. "He knew exactly where Darnell would be that night. I think we need to bring him to the station for another chat."

"Yeah, meanwhile I'll get this gun over to the crime lab." Said Lilly, referring the gun the case she carried in her arms. "All this time we've been looking into Darnell's life for some dark secrets. Maybe it's this pistol that has them instead."


	9. Chapter 9

After being informed about the result of the Larry Tyler interview, Stillman had Byron Wilford picked up from work and brought into one of the interrogation rooms at the police precinct. When Stillman entered the room along with Kat, Wilford did not appear to be in a good mood.

"Why the hell did you have to pick me up from my job?" He asked angrily. "If you had just called I would have came in on my own. Now I'm going to have to explain to all my co-workers why I'm involved with the police!"

"Trust me Byron, that's the least of your problems." Kat coldly replied. "You're going to have to explain a hell of a lot more the that. Starting with why you've been lying to us this whole time."

"What do you mean?"

"It's really simple," said Stillman. "First you denied any involvement with Gerald Allen. Then you lied about not knowing where Darnell would be the night he was killed."

"But I told you the truth!" Byron insisted. "I didn't work the same shift as Darnell. You can check with the old duty roster if you want to."

"We don't need too," Kat pointed out. "Because we know you were at Darnell's Super Bowl party a week before the game. And he told everyone there when he was going to work on the night he was killed, and the area he would be in."

This statement caused Byron's attitude to change. He nervously looked around, trying to think of something to say. "Oh, that. Well...uh...Maybe he did mention that at the party, but I forgot all about it. It was 26 years ago."

Stillman did not look convinced at all. "That's quite a selective memory you have there, Byron. After all, you had no problem remembering an incident in the police station that implicated Darnell's best friend in his murder."

Before Byron could respond, Kat cut in. "Come on Byron, how did it go down? Did Gerald Allen pay you to spy on Darnell? Maybe he wanted you to look for a good opportunity to take him out? If that's true we can cut a deal with you to testify against him."

"That's not what happened at all!" Wilford shot back.

"Or maybe you did it all on your own." Stillman added. "You were worried Darnell would find out you were being bribed by Allen, so you decided to use that bribery money to hire some help and take him out when he was on patrol. You figured if you did it right, Darnell's death would look like nothing more then a tragic statistic in the fight against crime."

"No! Look I already told you my prints are not ones they found on Darnell's revolver. You can check for yourself."

"That remains to be seen," responded Stillman. "But even if that's true, it doesn't mean you were not involved. We are looking for more then just the shooter in this case. We also want whoever was involved in planning the whole scheme, and right now the smart money is on you."

Wilford sighed. "Look, what do I have to do to convince you I wasn't involved?"

"A lot. But you can start by telling us where you were the night he was killed. And you better be straight with us. The 'I was home alone' defense isn't going to cut it," said Kat.

"Oh what's the point?" Asked Byron. "You already think I'm guilty, and if I tell you where I really was that night, it will only make me look worse."

"Look around you Byron," Stillman pointed out. "You're in a police station being interrogated by two people who think you're involved in the pre-meditated killing of a cop. And you've already been caught lying to us twice. How could you anything you tell us possibly make you look worse?"

Wilford finally gave in. "Alright fine. I know you won't believe me, but the night Darnell was killed I did spend most of the night home alone. But about 1:20 am, I went out for a fix."

"A fix?"

"Yeah, back then I had a drug problem. And being on the payroll of a drug kingpin had a few side "benefits". In addition to bribing me, Allen also let me help myself to his goods whenever I wanted them."

"Okay fine. So where did you go?"

"I went out to the condemned apartment complex at 1312 Summers street. That was Allen's turf. I knew he usually had a few dealers hanging out around that area at the time of the morning, so I went over there to get some blow and go home."

This statement caught Stillman's attention. "1312 Summers Street? That's right next to the pay phone where the anonymous phone call was made. The one that report the "suspicious" people loitering around the Westland Jewelry store and sent Darnell Prince to his death."

"I know, and a few days later I found that out myself. It scared the hell out of me. I knew if any of the cops who had been at Darnell's Super Bowl party ever found out that I was in the same area right around the time when the phone call was made, they would think I was the one who made it. That's why I lied to you before."

"Your suspicions were very well-founded," said Kat. "But let's assume you're telling the truth. If you didn't make the phone call, then who did?"

"I can't say for sure, but I think I've got a pretty good idea. You see, just as I expected, I found one of Allen's dealers in that area that night. But the person I found there wasn't what who I expected. On the contrary, he was a total surprise.

* * *

_("Refugee" by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers__)_

_Byron walked down the nearly empty streets of Philadelphia to the condemned apartment complex on Summers street. Just as he suspected, when he got there, he found there was someone standing in a dark corner, a person who Byron knew worked for Gerald Allen. But all the same, the person he found was a total surprise. Because that person was David Landis. The same David Landis that Byron had heard didn't work for Allen any more._

_"Well, well, well. Look who's here," Byron said sarcastically as he approached David. "I heard you were through working for Allen."_

_"Well I guess you heard wrong," replied David. He seemed to be deeply focused on something and only paying partial attention to Byron._

_"And to think your father and his friend Darnell seemed totally convinced your involvement with Allen was over," Byron continued. "They both think so highly of you. Kind of tragic isn't it? They both rambled on about how you had such a bright future, but in the end it looks like all you're really going to be is a shitbag dope dealer for the rest of your life."_

_"I don't need any morality lectures from a corrupt junkie cop," David replied. "Now get lost, I'm busy."_

_Byron was moderately upset at the remark, but he quelled his anger. "Not so fast kid. I'm just here for a fix. You hook me up with some of your stash and I'm outta here."_

_"Sorry Byron, I ain't got nothing for you tonight. You'll have to go poison yourself somewhere else," Once again, it seemed like David was deeply focused on something else. He kept looking nervously away, not paying much attention to Byron at all._

_Now Byron was enraged. He stormed over to David and pulled out his revolver. "Why you worthless little shit!" He shouted, pointed his gun directly at David's head. "Perhaps you don't understand the arrangement I've got with your boss. Whenever I want to help myself to his merchandise, I get it! So you better hand over the goods if you don't want your brains scattered all over the sidewalk."_

_David was seemed terrified now, bur he managed to keep calm. "L-l-look man, you're missing the point here. I don't have any drugs on me tonight. And threatening me with your .38 ain't going to change that."_

_"If you don't have any drugs on you, then what the hell are you doing here?"_

_"Allen's got me out here for a 'special assignment," David explained._

_"Special assignment?" Byron asked. "What the hell do you mean by that?"_

_"I mean I'm involved in something a lot more important then dealing. And Allen's gonna be really pissed if you fuck it all up."_

_"You expect me to believe that?"_

_"It doesn't matter what you believe. We both know Allen doesn't tolerate anyone on his payroll messing with his dealers, so you can't lay a hand on me."_

_Byron paused for a second, trying to think of a response, but he knew David was right. "Whatever," he angrily muttered as he put his gun away. "Next time I see you, you had better be more accommodating. Allen might be our employer, but I'm the one with a badge. And you damn sure don't want to get on my bad side."_

_With that, he turned around and angrily stormed off._

* * *

"Byron, I gotta say I'm very disappointed with you," said Kat as Byron finished the story. "After all those years on the force and all this time to think of a good story, that's the best you could come with?"

"What do you mean?"

"I've heard quite a few unusual alibis before," Said Stillman. "But this really stands out. "Not do you want us to believe that you weren't involved in a murder because you were out trying to score drugs and threatening teenagers at gun point, you also want us to believe David Landis is the one who called the police and sent Darnell to his death?"

"Well I didn't actually see him make the call," Byron admitted. "But yeah, that's what it seemed like based on what I know."

"Oh come Wilford, this is getting ridiculous," said Kat while mockingly rolling her eyes. "First you tried implicate Darnell's best friend, and now you try to pin the murder on his best friend's son?

Byron sighed. "See this is why I didn't mention this before. I knew you wouldn't believe me."

"Byron, by this point I'm starting to believe you would pin the murder on Darnell's own parents if they weren't dead already."

Byron thought of something. "Wait a sec, why don't you just compare my prints to the ones on that pay phone? That would prove I wasn't the one who made the call."

Kat rolled her eyes. "Nice try Byron, but we both know damn well there wasn't any..."

Suddenly she was interrupted by a knock on the interview room door. Stillman got up and left to see what it was about, leaving Kat alone with Byron in the interview room. Outside, Vera was waiting for him.

"Sorry to interrupt, Lt." Said Vera. "But I just got a call from Scotty and Lil from the crime lab."

"Yeah they told me they were going to turn in the .45 pistol they found in Larry Tyler's house and have it checked through the crime database to see if they could match it to anything that happened in the late 70's or early 80's." Stillman said

"Anyway, when they got there, the lab boys had a report waiting for them about Byron's fingerprints," Vera continued. Turns out Byron here was telling the truth about something. He was right. His prints don't match the ones on Darnell's revolver."

"Well I guess there's a first time for everything," remarked Stillman. "But now he wants us to exonerate him by comparing his prints to the ones on the pay phone where the call to the police was made that night."

"That guy's got a lot nerve," Vera fumed. "I'm sure he knows damn well they never found any usable prints on that."

Stillman thought for a moment. "Well, maybe not. Byron wasn't involved in the original investigation. It's possible he actually doesn't know about the lack of prints on the phone."

"But he worked as in the evidence room." Vera pointed out. "Even if he wasn't on the case, he still had access to information about it."

"It's possible. But all the same, right now we still don't any real proof he was involved in the murder. So until we get some, I think it would be worth the effort to test his story."

"What did you have in mind?" Asked Vera.

"Wilford has already offered to have his prints tested against the ones he thinks we found on the phone. Now, he may know that the original investigators didn't find any, but David Landis sure doesn't. Let's bring him in and see if how he responds to a request to have his prints tested. If Byron's story is accurate, then maybe we can use a bluff about the prints to get the truth."

* * *


	10. Chapter 10

"Look detectives, I really want to help with your case, but I've got a job to deal with you know?" Said David Landis as Jeffries and Vera escorted him into an interrogation room. "I can't just keep coming down here like this. What is it you want to talk about anyway? I already told you about my drug dealing for Allen."

"Well now we want to talk about something else," explained Vera. "Let's talk about your acting."

"Acting?"

"Yeah, that was one hell of act you put on back then," said Jeffries. "The whole 'wayward teenager caught up with the wrong crowd' routine. You had everyone fooled, including Rodney and Darnell. You even managed to fool us with it 26 years later."

David looked confused "What are you talking about?"

"Let me spell it out for you," said Vera. "It was all a lie. You were Allen's lapdog the whole time. You never intended to stop working for him, and when Darnell threatened to make that impossible, you had him killed."

"That's absurd!" Landis shot back. "What I told you before was the truth. I didn't have any more contact with Allen after Darnell caught me."

"Save it. We have a witness who spotted you next to the pay phone where the bogus call to the police was made. The one that sent Prince to his death. You were the one who set up the hit."

"Listen, I don't know what your witness said but the..." Landis paused in the middle of his sentence, apparently suddenly thinking of something. "Wait a minute. Did you say hit? I read in the papers that the event that night was a botched robbery."

"Yeah your plan worked really well," replied Jeffries. "That's what everyone believed back then. But now we know the truth. We know those men were waiting there just to kill him. And you're the one who made it happen."

Vera was about to ask for a sample of David's prints, hoping to use a bluff like Stillman had instructed, but he never got the chance. All of a sudden, David turned pale and as white as a ghost, his face an expression of utter horror. Then he completely broke down. "Oh my god!" he cried, putting his face in his hands, "it can't be!"

Jeffries was a bit concerned. "Hey, are you alright?"

By now David was sobbing uncontrollably. "I killed him!!" He wailed. "After everything he did for me, I killed him!"

Watching the interview from the other side of the two way mirror, Stillman was very surprised. On the one hand, he was technically getting exactly what he wanted: A full confession. But it didn't make sense. If Landis really had set up the hit, why was he so shocked? Stillman had been through enough interviews to know true emotions when he saw them. What was happening right now was clearly no act.

Meanwhile, inside the room, Jeffries was sensing victory. "Take it easy man. Look, maybe we were wrong about you. Maybe there's some part of you that still does care about Darnell. But you gotta tell everything."

David did not respond. He was still trying to pull himself together.

"Come on David, it's time to come clean," Added Vera. "You owe Darnell that much."

Finally David managed to regain control of himself. "Alright detectives. I'll do it. But I want you to hear me out because it seems you are very mistaken about the whole thing."

"Well then go ahead and set us straight."

"Everything I told you before was true." David explained. "I didn't have any more contact with Allen after Darnell caught me, with the exception of a phone call telling me I was done working for him. But then a few days before Darnell was killed, I was walking back home from a trip to a nightclub when I got surprise visit from Raynard Whitney.

"Who was Whitney?"

"The one person you do not want to meet in a dark alley, or anywhere else for that matter. He was the top enforcer for Gerald Allen. Whenever Allen had a problem that needed to be 'handled', he was the guy who would do it. He was the main reason no one who worked for Allen would ever dare to betray him. At first I thought he had come to silence me forever, but instead he had a simple proposal. As they say in the godfather, he made me the offer I couldn't refuse."

* * *

_("Who can it be now" by Men at Work)_

_After all his time working for Allen, David now found himself in the main situation he hoped he would never face. Alone on the streets at night with one the most feared men in Allen's criminal underworld. At this point, all of Darnell's assurances of his safety seemed very hollow._

_"__Hey there Landis," said Whitney as he stepped up to confront him, "I need to have a word with you. That is of course, if you've got the time."_

_David tried to hide his fear. "Sure Ray. What do you want to talk about."_

_Raynard smiled. "About the heat you brought down on Allen. That was really fucking stupid, getting caught by that cop! You didn't think Allen was just going to let that go now, did you? Gerald isn't the type to tolerate failure on such a colossal scale."_

_"Now wait a minute," David desperately protested. "Allen already told me he was done with me. And he doesn't have to worry about me ratting him out to the cops. I assure you my lips are sealed."_

_Raynard laughed. "I'm a afraid it's not that simple, kid. You're right about Allen being done with you, but before you move on, you gotta do one last job for him. Consider it repayment in exchange for him letting you get out of this situation with a pulse, and without any broken bones."_

_"A job? what are you talking about?"_

_"Relax kid, it's really simple. Over the last few days there have been some guys from a rival gang dealing on Allen's turf. Big mistake on their part. Allen wants them 'delt with', if you know what I mean."_

_"Yeah I understand. What does this have to do with me."_

_"You're going to sick the cops on em," Raynard explained. __"Allen got a tip that they'll be dealing near Westland Jewelry store at Hastings street the night of the Super Bowl. You're going to head to the abandoned apartment complex on Summers street and wait near the pay phone. I'll be monitoring the area to see if they show up. If they do, I'll call that phone and give you the signal. Then you're going to call the police make sure those idiots learn never to deal on Allen's turf again."_

_"And if I do this for Allen, that's the last I'll ever hear from him or you?"_

_"That's right Landis." Then Raynard cracked his knuckles. "Of course, if you don't want to do this job, I can think of a few other ways of settling your little debt."_

_"No, no, I'll do it." David said hastily. "Anything to put this all behind me."_

_"That's what I wanted to hear. And you better not screw up this time. Allen's patience with you has differently run out."_

* * *

"Hold on a second," said Vera at the end of the story. "What exactly was Allen's plan to have these rival dealers "delt with"

"Allen had a really efficient system," explained David. "Whenever he discovered people dealing in an area he thought was his, he'd just have someone call the cops on them. One of his men would phone the police anonymously and give some bullshit reason for sending them out there. When the police showed up, they would find the dealers, confiscate their drugs, and haul them off to prison."

"Using the police to eliminate his competition for him," remarked Jeffries. "That's pretty clever."

"Yeah, Allen was able to wipe out his competitors while keeping his own hands clean. That's what I thought I was doing that night. Look, I know it wasn't the most morally upstanding choice, but I figured it was the only way completely break away from Allen for good. Besides, even if it was in Allen's interest, I would still be taking some drug dealers off the street. I figured I could take some comfort in that."

"Well what you did was send Prince to his death. And you nearly got his partner killed too," Vera pointed out.

"Look I swear to you I had no idea that those guys were paid to kill him. I didn't even know Darnell would be the one to be dispatched to the scene. I didn't know where he was. I didn't even know he was on duty at the time."

"Really?" asked Jeffries. A week before, Darnell invited his closest friends to his house for a Super Bowl party and told them where he was going to be that night. I'm sure you were there"

"I didn't go to that," replied David. "That party was for his older friends and work pals, not me. You can ask anyone who went that party, and they'll all tell you I was not there."

"Okay fine, let's assume you're telling the truth and you were just an unwitting pawn in a hit set up by Allen. If that's the case, then what did you think Darnell was killed for? And why didn't you go to the police afterwords?

"I just figured those dealers panicked and opened fire on the police because they didn't want to go to prison. I felt terrible about making the call, but I didn't feel personally responsible for Darnell's death. And I didn't see the point of going to the police. You already got two of the three bastards who were responsible. I had no information about the third one, and no proof Allen was involved with the whole thing, since I didn't get the assignment from him directly. I figured you guys would catch the third shooter eventually, and if you didn't then me going to the cops would not have helped at all. I would have been arrested, while Allen would use his connections to stay free, like he always did."

"Oh I see," Vera said sarcastically. "So after everything Darnell did for and after getting involved in his death, you avoided going to the police to save your own skin...again. That's really noble of you. I'm sure Darnell would be proud."

David nodded. "You don't have to remind how weak I am, detective. Darnell was the one who was willing to put his life on the line for other people and for what he thought was right, not me. It's something that's haunted me to this day. But if it means anything, I've spent all this time trying to make up for it. I became a doctor and dedicated my life to the medical profession. I've donated huge amounts of my income to charity. I've done unpaid volunteer work on humanitarian aid missions around the globe. I know it's nothing compared to what Darnell was willing to do, but it's all I'm capable of.

"Well in addition to you not mentioning any of this before, there's still a major problem with your story," said Vera. "Byron Wilford said you told him that you were still working for Allen as one of his dealers right up to the night Darnell was killed."

"Wilford? So that's how you found out I was the one who made the call. Look, the guy was ranting like a maniac and ended up sticking a gun in my face. I told him I was still dealing for Allen just to get rid of him."

"Well even if you're telling us the truth, you should know that we could still charge you and accessory in the murder. And we are going to need a sample of your fingerprints so we can exclude you as the one who pulled the trigger."

David got up and sighed. "God, prison, a professional hit, this is all a lot to take in. I still can't believe I was a part of it all." Then he turned back to face the detectives. "Fine I understand. If I need to go to prison to live up to what I did, then I'll accept it. And I'll submit a sample of my prints as well. I may have been involved in the crime, but I was absolutely not the killer."

* * *

On the other side of the two-way mirror, Stillman and Kat looked on with surprise at hearing David's story.

"So you think he's telling the truth?" Asked Kat. "He certainly seems sincere."

"Well that may be, but then again, he seemed that way the last time he was in here," Stillman pointed out. "All the same we need to look into this. I want you to get to work on researching this 'Raynard Whitney' fellow. Find out everything you can on him. It looks like he'll be the person to bring in next."

"No problem Lt, pretty soon I'll be able to tell you his favorite color."

As Kat headed off to begin working on her assignment, Lilly and Scotty entered the room. "Ah welcome back," said Stillman as they walked in. "I hope your trip to the crime lab was worthwhile."

"It most certainly was," replied Lilly, her voice ringing with excitement. "We need to have a meeting with the entire squad immediately. You know that big break in the case we've been looking for? I think we just found it."

"Really, so that gun in Tyler's house had something to do with the murder?"

"Boss, we think the gun had everything to do with it. What we found might be enough to close the whole thing," said Scotty, also sounding enthusiastic.

"Well that's great to hear. We've found some big breaks ourselves here at the station. I'll get the squad assembled for a meeting. Hopefully we can combine everything we've found to put this case away, permanently.

* * *


	11. Chapter 11

Soon the entire Cold Case squad was assembled in a conference room, with the exception of Kat, who was still researching Raynard Whitney, and Scotty.

"Hey Lil, where's Scotty?" Asked Jeffries. "You guys seemed so eager to let us know what you found at the crime lab, and now you're holding us up."

"He had to go get something out of the records room," Lilly explained. "He should be back in..."

Lilly was interrupted by Scotty walking into the room. In his arms, he carried a folder from the homicide records department. But it wasn't Darnell's folder. The information on the folder read "Sears, J. May 1978."

"Scotty, what are you doing with that?" asked Vera sarcastically. "Last time I checked, we haven't solved the Prince case yet. I don't think we're in any position to start on another one."

"Well maybe not, but we made a big break in this case all the same," Scotty replied as he set the folder down on the table and started pulling items out of it. "And that also happens to be directly tied to our current one."

"Alright, I think it's time for an explanation," Stillman said. "Let's hear what you have found."

Scotty pulled something out of the folder and held it up for everyone in the room to see. It was a picture of a woman in her mid 20's. "This is 27-year old Julia Sears, a clerk in a Philadelphia law firm and a mother of two," he explained. "In May of 1978, she was walking home from a late night at the office when she took two pistol bullets to the chest. She was dead before the para-medics ever arrived. The police were alerted to the scene by 911 calls from the surrounding buildings. The callers reported hearing multiple gun shots and the cops found shell casings at least 3 different weapons at the scene. Based on the recent activity in the area, the original theory of the crime was that it was a shootout between two rival drug gangs, and Sears just happened to be there to take a couple of stray rounds. But that was as far as the original investigation ever got. The police didn't find any more physical evidence in the case, and no witnesses to the shooting ever came forward."

"All very tragic," said Jeffries. "But what does this case have to do with our current one?"

"Quite a lot actually," Lilly cut in. "Because we just found the murder weapon."

Everyone else in the room reacted to Lilly's declaration with stunned silence. Then Vera spoke up. "Wait a minute, are you saying the gun you found in Larry Tyler's house is the gun that killed Julia Sears?"

"The one and the same," replied Lilly, holding up a ballistics report she brought back from the crime lab. "The guys down at the lab matched the gun to both rounds that killed her."

"So for the last 26 years, the prize possession of Larry Tyler's gun collections was actually a murder weapon, and he never even knew it." remarked Stillman. "I can hardly wait to break the news."

"But how is the gun involved in our current case?" asked Vera. "We know Larry got the gun from Darnell, who originally got it by taking it from David Landis. Is it possible that David was the one who killed Juilia Sears? If so, that would certainly give him a strong motive to kill Darnell so that gun would never find its way into a police evidence room."

"It's possible, but not likely," Scotty replied. "Remember, Julia was killed in 1978. David would have only been 15 years old at the time. I don't think he was working for Allen back then."

"Well you remember, Marcus Rothman said that Allen didn't have an age limit for his dealers..." Jeffries pointed out just as the door started to open. Kat entered the room and quietly took a seat, apparently finished with her research on Raynard Whitney, but not wanting to interrupt the conversation

"Yeah but there is no record of him using anyone that young," said Lilly. "Besides, all based on all the evidence we've found so far, it seems that Landis' dealing for Allen was something that was very recent around the time of Darnell's death and very short."

"That's a good point," Stillman added. "Also, I don't see Landis as a person who could have been the masterminded. I just don't think he had the resources or the skills required for something this big. Plus he wasn't at Darnell's Super Bowl party, so there I don't see how he would have known where Darnell was on the night he was killed."

"But Allen could have set it up," said Scotty. "He did have the resources and skills required for an operation like this. And he could have found out where Darnell was from Byron Wilford, or maybe even someone else. Wilford might not have been his only connection on the inside."

"So this is what we figure happened," Lilly explained. "In 1978 one of Allen's men uses the gun in a shootout with some rival gang members and accidentally kills Julia Sears. For some reason, the guy keeps the gun and later on he lends it to David Landis, and then it's taken by Darnell. But Allen finds out that Darnell took the gun off David when Darnell brandished it during their confrontation in his bar, and he panics. He knows one of his men used that gun in a murder and if the gun is ever turned in to be used as evidence, it could destroy his entire operation. After all, the gun implicates his entire organization in a murder and he could personally go down for it."

"So hit sets up the whole hit in order to make sure Darnell never turns the gun in to his department, or at least to cover up where Darnell got the gun from, and makes it look like a robbery," Stillman concluded. "That's consistent with what David Landis told us. He said the person who told him to make the phony call to the police was Allen's top enforcer, Raynard Whitney. Speaking of Whitney, Kat I assume you are here because you have finished your research on him. Let's hear what you've found."

* * *

All attention in the room turned to Kat as she stood to deliver her report. "Well it looks like David was telling the truth. Whitney was the top enforcer for Gerald Allen back in those days. But even though it seemed like everyone knew what he did, it turns out that he was even better at covering his tracks then his boss. The man had no criminal record whatsoever. In fact, in addition to his business with Allen, he actually worked for a legitimate security firm called "Steven's Security and Protection Services". The company provides security services to some of Philadelphia's top companies and industries."

"Well considering some of the occupations of the other people involved with this case, I can't say I find this too surprising." Remarked Stillman

"That may be, but here is where the story gets really interesting. The day after the Super Bowl, Whitney checked himself into a hospital. According to the hospital records, he was treated for severe bruising on his face and a cracked rib. He told the doctors he fell down the stairs in his apartment."

This caught Stillman's attention. "A cracked rib? That sounds like the type injury a person might get if they were shot while wearing body armor."

"Exactly," Kat replied. "And I checked with his old company. They did issue their security officers body armor back then. Suffice to say, it looks like we've found the third shooter."

"This just keeps getting better. So where is he now?"

Kat's tone suddenly became less enthusiastic. "Well... here's the thing. Two days after his hospital visit, he quit his job without giving any notice and moved out of state. This caught the attention of the police, but at the time there wasn't anything to link him or Allen to Darnell's death. They just figured he screwed up a job for Allen and recieved a beating for his efforts. Then he skipped town to avoid getting a cement overcoat. His last known address was in Cleveland, Ohio."

"Ohio huh? Well does anyone want to volunteer for our next field trip?" Asked Stillman.

"That won't be necessary," Kat replied in a grim tone. "I'm afraid we found this all out a bit too late. Raynard Whitney isn't going to be telling us anything. He died of lung cancer in 2005."

Scotty slammed his fist down on the table. "Dammit! We put so much effort into this case and we'll never get to charge the shooter! Unbelievable."

"Take it easy Scotty," said Stillman. "We can still get the person who paid him to do it. But in order to do that, we'll need to prove Whitney was the third shooter at the scene. Kat, please tell me we've got his prints on file somewhere."

"We don't," Kat replied, "but his company does. He had to give them a sample of his prints as a condition of employment. I've already talked to company reprasentatives and they agreed to send his prints to the crime lab."

"Excellent. With his prints we can match them to ones on Darnell's revolver, and Whitney's known association with Allen's drug operations links Allen to the crime. I think it's time we brought him in for another talk."

"Sounds reasonable Lt, but I doubt he will have much to say. He wasn't very hospitable the first time around, and left us with the impression he would never say anything else to us." pointed out Scotty.

"That was before we found all the evidence against him, " said Stillman. "I have a feeling that once he finds out we know the secret of that old gun and we are in process of testing Whitney's prints against the ones on the murder weapon, he'll be a little more accommodating.

Lilly wasn't convinced. "I'm not so sure about that. Even with that evidence, we'll still have a hard time proving Allen set up the hit. We still might be able to convict him, but it's a long shot, and person like Allen would know it.

"But we have another ace in the hole," Kat pointed out: "Raynard Whitney. As far as I can tell, Whitney didn't have any more contact with Allen after he left Philly. So Allen might not know that he's dead. If we make him think we are planning to cut a deal with Whitney in order testify against Allen, it might be enough to get Allen to confess. After all, this is a capital case we are talking about. I seriously doubt Allen is willing to risk spending his final years on death row."


	12. Chapter 12

"So detectives, what do you want to talk about this time?" Asked Allen as Stillman and Kat brought him into an interrogation room. "Not that it matters of course. I already told your other flunkies that I've got nothing more to say."

"You don't need to say anything," Stillman replied coldly. "We know all about the significance of the gun Darnell took from David Landis and how you had him killed in order to cover it up. The evidence speaks for itself."

Allen remained calm and defiant. "What on earth are you talking about? You really think I'd have a cop killed because he took a gun from one of my dealers? Sheesh, with police work like this, it's no wonder I was able to stay in business for so long."

"You would if it was used in a murder, which this gun most certainly was," said Kat. "Don't bother denying it. We already found the gun and matched it to the bullets that killed Julia Sears in 1978."

Allen mockingly clapped his hands. "Congratulations. Now you can get to work on finding out who killed her. We all know if you had any evidence I was involved, I'd be cuffed and in front of a judge right now."

"Oh we will," said Stillman. "But in the mean time, we've already found out who killed Darnell Prince. It's an old pal of yours named Raynard Whitney. That name ring a bell?

"Whitney? What does he have to do with this?" Asked Allen, appearing somewhat surprised.

"Oh everything," replied Kat. "You see, David Landis already confessed to being involved in the hit, and he told us Whitney was the one who one who brought him in and explained the entire game plan. Not only that, but we know Whitney was treated in a hospital for injuries the day after the Super Bowl. And to top it all off, we found his fingerprints on file. Pretty soon we'll be able to match them to the ones we found on the murder weapon."

For once, Allen appeared to be nervous. "Now hold on a second..."

"But you havn't even heard the best part yet." Stillman cut in. "We found out Whitney's address."

"You...know where he lives?" Asked Allen

"That's right, Gerald," replied Kat. "Cleveland, Ohio. Why, I'll bet by the time we get out there to interview him, we'll have the fingerprint report from the lab. I can just imagine the look on his face when we show up at his doorstep with the lab report in hand, showing his fingerprints on the murder weapon. I bet he'll be begging us for a deal."

"And we'll be all too happy to give him one," added Stillman, "provided he tells us everything about the person who hired him. I don't like to speculate, but I'm fairly confident he's going to say it was you. That's going to be all we need. With all the other evidence, plus your career history as a felon, it's not going to be too hard to convince a jury you were the one who set the whole thing up."

"Fellas, fellas, hold on a second here," said Allen, his air of confidence and defiance now gone. "Let's be reasonable, I'm sure we can work something out. I can give you what you want..."

"You're not going weasel out of this Allen," Stillman replied bluntly. "You tell us everything right now, and maybe we'll talk to the DA about getting the death penalty off the table. Otherwise you can look forward to spending your final years waiting for a needle in your arm."

Allen sighed. "You're right, Whitney was the third shooter at the scene that night, and if you go to him with the evidence you have, I'm sure he'll say I was the one who hired him. But he'll only do that because he'll know its what you want to hear, not because its true. I didn't pay anyone to kill Darnell Prince."

"Why the hell should we believe that?" Asked Kat.

"Because I know who did!" Allen blurted out unexpectedly.

Allen's statement brought stunned silence to the room for a few seconds, as well as to the other detectives watching the interview from outside. Then Stillman spoke up. "You want us to believe that all this time you've been innocent, yet unwilling to give us the real killer, which would exonerate you."

"I didn't say I was innocent," Allen pointed out. "I said I wasn't involved in the hit. You see the thing is, I didn't kill Darnell Prince...but my actions may have indirectly and inadvertently lead to his death."

"That remains to be seen," said Stillman. "Let's hear your story now. Otherwise, we'll get everything we need from Whitney and we won't have any reason to make any deals with you."

"Not a chance." Allen replied bluntly. "I'm not saying anything until we come to an agreement right now. I tell you what you need to know and I walk out of here a free man."

"You can't possibly expect us to accept that," Kat replied.

"Oh really? I'm not stupid detective. I know you need me to bag your cop killer, and get the guy who killed Julia Sears. You won't get either one of them without me. Besides, I've already done enough for this. I spent 12 years of my life in prison and lost everything. My money, my power, my prestige. It's all gone now. All I've got are my remaining years. Are they really worth letting two murderers walk?

Kat was about to respond, but Stillman cut her off. "Alright, Allen, you got a deal. You're in police custody and we haven't mirandized you yet, so you know full well whatever you say to us can't be used against you. Just tell us who killed Prince and Sears and if we determine it's accurate, and that you were not involved, you'll never have to worry about being charged. But you better start talking before I come to my senses."

Allen smiled. "No problem. Here's how it went down. You were right about the gun. One of my men did use it in a shootout with a rival gang and accidentally killed Julia Sears. I told the moron to ditch the gun, but he never did. Guess he was too attached to it. I was a pretty nice gun, I suppose. Anyway years later he got real close with David Landis, close enough to lend him his gun for protection on the streets. But wouldn't you know it, Darnell took the gun off him and suddenly I'm starting at it in my own bar, in his hands."

"We figured that much." Said Stillman. "Go on".

"Well suffice to say I was horrified. I knew I was already under investigation for a lot of things, but up to that point, my organization had never been linked to any murders. If the truth behind that gun ever came out, it would destroy me. So I had to prevent that from happening. But here is where you got it all wrong. I never planned to kill Darnell Prince. Killing a cop, especially one with a record as clean as his, would be too risky. I'd probably just wind up digging myself into an even deeper hole."

"So what was your plan?" Asked Kat

"Simple. I figured all I needed to do was get the gun back."

"How were you going to do that? It's not like you could just ask him for it." Kat pointed out.

"I know, and I was sure he wouldn't take a bribe. So I decided to use the one person I thought could get the gun back: David Landis' father."

Stillman was surprised to hear this. "Rodney Landis? You were going to use him to get the gun back for you?"

"Sure it seemed like the most reasonable plan. I knew Rodney and Darnell were close friends, so I figured if anyone could get the gun back, it would be him. Besides, it was his son that lost the gun in the first place. The way I figured it, Rodney owed it to me."

"But Rodney wasn't a criminal," Kat pointed out. "And he was wealthy, so bribing him wouldn't work. How were you going to get him to go along with your plan?"

"The same way Darnell came into my bar and "convinced" me to let David go. I figured all I needed to do was make him understand that taking care of this problem would be in his best interest. So I sent a couple of my men to his to his business to pick him up and bring him to me as he was going home from work. When he saw the shiney toys in their hands, he realized it was a good idea to go along and hear me out."

"You had Rodney abducted at gun point?"

"I told you, I needed Rodney to realize just how serious I was. And once he got to my place, that's exactly what I did.

* * *

_("You Better Run" by Pat Benitar)_

_Allen sat on one of the stools in his currently empty tavern, waiting for his men to arrive with Rodney Landis. As he was waiting, he couldn't help thinking of the irony of the whole situation. Earlier in the month, Darnell Prince had stormed into this very bar to coerce him into doing what he wanted, and now here he was in the same place, about to do the same thing to Darnell's best friend. Soon his thoughts were interupted by the arrival of Rodney Landis, who entered the bar escorted in by Allen's thugs._

_"Well hello Mr. Landis," Allen said mockingly, getting up from his seat. "We havn't been properly introduced, but I'm sure you know who I am."_

_"L-l-look Gerald, I know you're pissed about David getting caught by the cops." Rodney replied in a frightened tone. "But let me assure you he isn't going to tell them anything. He has kept his mouth shut and that's the way it will remain."_

_"I know that. You're son's an incompetent fool, but he's not that stupid. However, there is another matter that needs to be resolved."_

_"What are you talking about?"_

_"When David was picked up by that cop, your pal Darnell Prince, he had a gun on him. A custom made M1911." As he said this, Allen walked over to Rodney and handed him a photograph of the gun. "My contact in his precinct tells me that no 1911s have been turned in to the evidence room since then. That means Darnell must still have it. I need it back, and you're going to get it for me."_

_"That's what you brought out here for? Why do you care about this gun anyway?"_

_"That's none of your concern!" Allen snapped. "You're going to go to Darnell and get the gun from him, end of story!"_

_"That's absurd. How the hell am I am supposed to do that?"_

_Allen moved closer, his tone growing more hostile. "That's your problem, not mine! It was your faggot son that lost gun in the first place. Now you're going be a good little dad and fix his fuckup."_

_"This is outrageous." exclaimed Rodney as he started to back away. "You can't expect me too..."_

_Before he could finished his sentence, one of Allen's men grabbed Rodney and slammed him face first into the hard tile floor. Rodney rolled on to his back, attempting to get up, but as he did, the man held him down by putting one hand around his throat and stuck a enormous .44 caliber revolver in his face with the other._

_"You think you can turn me down!?" Allen shouted. "You may be a big shot at your job, but on my turf you're nothing! I'm the one who makes the rules here. And if you don't play along, the last thing you're ever going to see is the look on David's face as I put a magnum slug into his skull!"_

_Upon finishing his statement, he emphasized his point by kicking Rodney hard in the ribs. Rodney groaned in pain, stuggling under the grip of the other man holding him down._

_"Doesn't feel so good, does it?" Asked Allen. "Just a short while ago, I got the same treatment from your pal Darnell Prince in this very place! All thanks to the screwup from your idiot kid! Now you're going to solve this problem or the treatment you are getting now is going to seem like a mild inconvenience."_

_"Listen Mr. Allen, my point is..."_

_Once again Rodney was unable to finish his sentence. This time, the man holding him down slammed his head against the floor and cocked the revolver held against his face._

_"I'm through messing around you Rodney! There isn't anything you can do to get out of this! Now I'm going to say this one last time. The situation with Darnell is an unacceptable problem. You are going to solve the problem. Do you understand?"_

_"Y-yes," Rodney said as he struggled under the grip of Allen's henchman. "I get it."_

_Allen made a motion with his hands and his henchman responded by letting go of Rodney and allowing him to get up. "That's better. Now listen up. You got two weeks to get this taken care of, Rodney. I mean it. If this problem doesn't get resolved it two weeks, you and your son will cease to exist. There won't even be a corpse for the cops to find. And don't think of going to the police. I know where you live and work. There is no way they are going to be able to protect you. Now get out of the hell out of here!"_

_Rodney brushed himself off and hurried out of the tavern as fast as a could._

* * *

"Less then a week later, Darnell was killed. The papers said it was a burglary, but I knew Rodney Landis set it up," explained Allen. "Believe me, no one was more surprised then I was, or more enraged. It was only pure luck that the cops never linked the hit to back to me. I just wanted the gun back. But I guess Rodney misunderstood me."

"Misunderstood you?!" shouted Kat in a tone of anger and surprise while storming over to Allen. "Darnell is dead because of you and you just write it off as a misunderstanding?!"

"Look lady, I'm not saying that because I find it amusing. I'm telling you that because that's just how it was. If I had wanted Darnell dead, I would have used a professional. Not someone like Rodney Landis. The whole reason I used him because I hoped I could the gun back without any bloodshed. But the moron went off and set up a hit all on his own. I was pissed, but I figured it would be best just to stay the hell away from him. The cops never linked the crime to me, so I figured to just move on while I could."

"There's one problem Gerald," said Stillman. "We know Raynard Whitney was the third shooter. But Whitney didn't work for Rodney. He worked for you."

"I figured you would say that. Did you know Raynard also worked a lawful job as a security officer?"

"Yeah we know, so what?" Asked Kat

"Well did you also know that at the time, he was in charge of security for Rodney Landis' construction company?"

Allen smiled when he saw the surprised expression on the faces of both detectives. "Didn't know that, huh? Think about it. How do you think I knew Rodney Landis was a friend of Darnell Prince? How do you think I knew where he worked and when to pick him up as he was leaving? It was all thanks to Raynard Whitney. But what I didn't know was that Landis found out Whitney was working for me. Don't you see? That's why he hired him for the hit. He figured that if the truth about that night was ever discovered, it would lead the police to me and not him. And apparently it worked."

"I don't know. That seems a bit of a stretch..."

"Come on detective, why do you think it Whitney skipped town the day after the hit. It wasn't just because he was worried about getting arrested. It was also because he was worried about getting caught by me! He took a hit job without my knowledge or authorization and totally fucked it up. Do you have any idea what I would have done to him if he had..." Allen trailed off before finishing his sentence, suddenly remembering who he was talking too.

"Well we'll just have to check into..." Stillman's response was interrupted by a knock at the door. "Sit tight Allen. We'll be right back."

* * *

Stillman and Kat left Allen alone in the interrogation room and went outside where Lilly and Scotty were waiting.

"Lt. I can't believe we're just going to let the scumbag walk," exclaimed Kat once they were outside. "Even if he's telling the truth, he's still responsible for Darnell's death."

"Miller, I don't like it any more then you do, but without the real Raynard Whitney to testify against him, we probably would never have convicted him of anything anyway." Stillman pointed out. "We needed Allen to tell us everything and that was the only way."

Then he turned to face his other detectives. "Now, what is it you asked us out here for."

Lilly held up a lab report in her hands. "Boss we got a problem, a big one. We just got the lab report back with the fingerprint checks on David Landis and Raynard Whitney. Landis was telling the truth. His prints are not on the murder weapon."

"Well that's not too surprising," replied Stillman. "So what's the problem?"

"The thing is, Whitney's prints didn't match the ones on the gun either!"

Stillman was amazed by this. "What? You mean Whitney wasn't the third shooter after all?"

"That's what it looks like," said Lilly.

"Without his prints on the gun, it won't matter if it was Allen or Landis who set up the hit." Remarked Stillman. "We won't have enough evidence against either one of them."

"I can't believe this," said Kat. "We had so much evidence against Whitney. The statement from David Landis. His links to Allen. His trip to the hospital. His flight after the shooting. I was so sure he was the one. It just doesn't make sense..."

Suddenly Scotty realized something. "No, it makes perfect sense."

Everyone turned to Scotty, looking for an explanation. "Whitney was the third shooter that night." Scotty explained. "But he wasn't the one who killed Darnell, and I know who it was."


	13. Chapter 13

"Thanks for coming down here, Mr. Landis. We appreciate you coming back in to talk with us," said Lilly as she and Scotty escorted Rodney Landis into the interrogation. "I know the last time we spoke it didn't go so well."

"Oh don't worry about that, detective," replied Rodney. "In fact, I'd like to apologize for the outburst at my house. I know you were just doing your jobs. You just got to understand, Darnell was one of the best friends I ever had, and I just couldn't stand to hear anyone make such outrageous allegations about his conduct."

"Well we talked with Larry Tyler and it turns out you were right," said Scotty. "Darnell didn't do anything wrong at that party. As far as we can tell, Darnell was a very honorable and respectable man. In addition to what you told us, it seems like just about everyone who knew him spoke very favorably about him, even a few of the criminals he delt with on the job."

Rodney smiled. "I'm not surprised to hear that. Darnell was a very strict cop who generally did everything by the book, but all the same, he always did what he could to help everyone around him. Guys like me used to rag on him for it. I'd joke that he was on some quest to change the world. But he didn't mind. It's just the type of person he was."

"I see. Then I guess it must have been really hard to do what you did." Scotty replied.

Rodney sat up in his seat, surprised. "What are you talking about."

"You know, using the information Darnell gave you at that party to set him up and hiring three men to kill him. That must have been painstakingly difficult. Perhaps it was tough also knowing you would kill his partner too, but that was an acceptable loss, right?"

Rodney practically jumped out of his seat and slammed his hands down on the table upon hearing this, standing up so fast that he knocked over his chair. "That's absurd! I can't believe you still think I would have anything to…"

Scotty calmly cut him off. "But you know what the hardest part must have been? That hardest part must have been when you pulled the trigger on him yourself."

Rodney reacted to Scotty's statement with stunned silence. Then he spoke up. "Wait a minute. First you said I hired some men to kill him. Now you're saying I personally killed him. Which is it?"

"It was both." Scotty replied.

Rodney picked up his chair and quietly sat back down while Scotty continued. "You see Rodney, all throughout this entire investigation, we kept running into the same problem. We could never link any of the people we suspected of being the third shooter to the murder weapon. But then I thought of something his old partner told us. Laura said there was one thing about the crime that didn't add up. She couldn't understand how Darnell could have let the final suspect overpower him and murder him with his own weapon. Laura was sure Darnell was just too good and careful to let that happen, especially considering the fact that he had been in total control of the whole situation from the beginning.

"Well I agree that it seems unlikely, but it's far from impossible. I'm sure you've seen it happen to the best before." Rodney pointed out.

"Yeah that's what I thought at the time." Scotty continued. "But as the investigation went on and we were unable to link any of the potential third shooters to the murder weapon, it got me thinking of something else. What if there was someone else there besides the three shooters? What if the man who hired them went along himself, just to make sure everything went according to plan? That would certainly make the situation a lot more difficult, even for someone like Darnell, to handle handle on his own."

"I don't follow you detective," said Rodney. "What are you saying?"

"Simple. You didn't just hire the three shooters to kill Darnell. You also went along with them to make sure they did the job. You were hoping not to get involved the in the actual shooting, but knowing how good Darnell was, you had to be ready to do so just in case. And sure enough, Darnell and his partner proved too much for your men to handle, so when you got the opportunity to do so, you stepped in to finish the job yourself."

"I did no such thing! That's completely absurd!"

"Is it?" Asked Lilly. "Gerald Allen already told us how he brought you to his bar to coerce you into doing his dirty work. Only he didn't want you to kill anyone, just to get his gun back. Guess you didn't get the message."

"He's lying!" Rodney replied. "The man's a criminal and I'm sure the only way you got him to talk was to accuse him of the crime. He'd say anything to get himself off the hook. There is no reason to believe a word of it."

"That's true. But he has an airtight alibi to prove he wasn't anywhere near the scene of the crime that night. Do you?"

Rodney thought for a moment. "Well….no. I was home alone that night. I know that's not a real alibi, but that's just how it is. There isn't anything I can do about it."

"Oh but there is." Scotty pointed out. "You can give us a sample of your fingerprints and clear this whole thing up immediately."

"My prints? Why do you want them?"

"Because we can check them against the prints we found on Darnell's gun. If they don't match, then you're in the clear."

Rodney stared down at the floor for a second, desperately trying to think of something to say.

"Didn't see that coming, did you?" Asked Lilly. "Look Mr. Landis, we can get a court order for your prints, but why don't you just save us the trouble? I can tell that despite what you did, you still consider Darnell to be one of your best friends. Don't you think it's time to do the right thing? Darnell deserves justice. Besides, by coming clean, you can also help your son."

"David? What does he have to do with this?"

"You're a good liar, but you're wasting your breath," said Scotty. "We already know he was involved in the crime."

"No that can't be!" Said Landis with an expression of utter shock. "It's not true!"

Lilly smiled. "Oh, I see now. You didn't know."

"Didn't know what?"

"That your son was the one who made the 911 call that night."

"No! That's impossible!"

"I'm afraid not Mr. Landis. He already confessed to it." Lilly explained. "It all makes sense. You told Raynard Whitney to find someone to make the 911 call assuming he'd pick one of his criminal associates. But instead, he used David to do it. I guess Raynard figured that if you ever got caught, it would ensure that you would never rat him out, since he could threaten to expose David's role in the crime."

Rodney was getting desperate now. "Look, even if that's true. You can't charge David with anything. It wasn't his fault. I'm sure he didn't know what he was involved in."

"That appears to be true, but we could charge him as an accessory to murder all the same. However we've talked with the D. A. and they've agreed on a deal. If you tell us everything, they won't prosecute your son."

Before he could respond, Scotty cut in. "Come on Rodney, I can tell this must have been eating you up inside all these years. Deep down, you really want to come forward and put this matter to rest."

Rodney looked down and sighed. "Yes, you're right. You have no idea how hard it's been…..but.,..I..did what I had to do for my family. David was all I had left. I had to protect him."

"By doing this, you can," said Lilly. "You don't have to worry about David. Gerald Allen is just an old man living in a crummy run down apartment. His money and power are gone now. He can't hurt anyone else anymore. It's time to do the right thing."

Rodney smiled a bit. "Doing the right thing, justice, coming clean. You guys sound just like Darnell. Those are terms he used all the time, and he truly believed in them. He really lived by those principles, and all the way to the bitter end, he refused to give them up."

* * *

_Several dozen yards away from the Westland jewelry store, Rodney Landis sat in his car, waiting for his plan to come to it's brutal conclusion. He had already followed Darnell from the police station to ensure his vehicle would be close to the store when the 911 call came in. Now hopefully, all he would have to do was wait for his men to do their jobs and drive them away. But knowing Darnell, the outcome was far from certain..._

* * *

_"Stanton, go after him, I'll handle things here!" As Laura took off after Eddie Ransen, Darnell moved up to arrest Whitney, his weapon in one hand drawn on the suspect while using his weak hand to call for backup on his radio._

_Once he got close to Whitney, Darnell started to put his pistol away and reach for his handcuffs. But suddenly with lightning fast speed, Whitney sprung up off the ground and lunged at Darnell with a football style tackle, taking Darnell completely by surprise. The sudden move knocked Darnell off his feet and sent his revolver flying out of his un-snapped holster. For several seconds, both men wrestled along the ground, pounding on each other and trying to gain control with their bare hands. Eventually, Darnell managed to gain control of the situation by rolling Whitney onto his chest and slamming his head face first into the pavement as hard as he could. Darnell followed it up by pinning the man's arm behind his back and wrenching it up, causing Whitney to start wailing in pain._

_"Are you done yet?!" Darnell angrily shouted as he continued to apply pressure on Whitney's arm. "If you want to keep fighting, we can stay in this position until backup arrives. And believe me, it might be a while."_

_"Okay okay!" Raynard groaned in pain. "I give up, just take it easy."_

_"Think you're pretty tough huh?" Asked Darnell, picking up his handcuffs with a free hand, while keeping control of Raynard. "You make be able to take a gunshot and keep fighting, but it's nothing compared to what's in store for..."_

_Before Darnell could apply his handcuffs or finish his sentence, he was interrupted by a clicking noise from behind him. It was a sound he was very familiar with: The sound of his own service revolver being cocked. This was followed by the sound of a gruff voice that seemed somewhat familiar. "Hands up cop. Get off him."_

_Darnell dropped his cuffs and slowly stood up with his hands in the air._

_"H-hey man thanks for the save," said Raynard weakly. "Now let's..."_

_"Shut up, you worthless low life!" The unidentified man said from behind Darnell. "I can't believe you screwed this up so bad. You guys can't do anything right. Now get in the car and wait for me!"_

_"Look man, I don't know you guys were doing out here and I don't care, but whatever it was, it can't be worth killing a cop over it." Said Darnell to the man behind him as Raynard painfully limped away. "I havn't seen your face, so you have no reason to kill me. Just get in your car and get out of here."_

_"You may not have seen my face Darnell, but you know me all too well," replied Rodney._

_Suddenly Darnell realized who the man behind him was. He turned around to see Rodney Landis pointing his own revolver at him. "Rod? You're involved in this? What the fuck are doing man?"_

_"Doing exactly what I said I would do." Rodney replied coldly. "I'm doing what needs to be done to protect David. I told you never should have messed Gerald Allen, but but you were too proud and full of yourself to listen."_

_"Allen? So he forced you into this because of my confrontation with him? Look man, you don't have to..."_

_"It wasn't about that, Darnell. It's about the gun you took from David. Allen's going to kill him over it, unless I settle this right now."_

_"That's what this is all about? Allen wanted you to kill me just for that?"_

_"No, he told me to get the gun back, but I knew that was a lost cause. There was no way I could get that from you, even if I told you what was at stake. You would just give some grand speech about 'doing the right thing' and try to use it to build a case against Allen. You're so obsessed with taking him down that you don't care who goes down with him. Me and David would just become acceptable losses in your crusade."_

_"Rod, this isn't you, man. Just give me the gun," Darnell replied, extending an arm out. "You've crossed a terrible threshold, but you don't need to take this any further. It's not too late..."_

_Before Darnell could finish his sentence, Rodney struck him across the face with the revolver in his hand, opening a big gash above Darnell's right eye. "Shut the fuck up Darnell!" Rodney angrily replied. "God you are unbelievable! Here I am with a gun in your face and you're trying to appeal to my good nature? Trying to 'save me'? Wake up man. That's not how it works in the real world. You gotta lookout for your own interests and the people you care about the most. Your noble ideals and dedication don't mean shit compared to that."_

_"Bullshit Rod. You're not like this at all. Allen's managed to scare the hell out of you, but he can't change who you are. I know that in spite of all you've done. And I know damn well you're not going to shoot me."_

_"Wanna bet?!" asked Rodney, extending his arm fully so the gun was pointed directly at his head. Darnell closed his eyes and waited for his life to end in an instant, but nothing happened. Surprised, he opened his eyes to see that Rodney has lowered the gun, although it was still gripped tightly in his shaking hand._

_"See I knew you didn't have it in you. You're no killer. Now give me the gun," said Darnell, once again extending his hand._

_But Rodney responded by taking a step back and raising the revolver again. "No! There's one thing that needs to be done before this ends. Now get in the car," he said, pointing to his vehicle in the distance._

_"What do mean? What do you plan to do?"_

_"I'm willing spend the rest of my life in prison for this, and I damn sure wouldn't mind that scum you were fighting with going away either, but before I turn myself in, I need to make sure that gun disappears for good. You're going to take me to wherever you stashed it and we'll destroy it. It's only way to make sure David stays unharmed."_

_"No." Darnell calmly replied._

_"What the hell do mean you no?" Rodney angrily asked._

_"There's no way I'm going along with this." Darnell defiantly replied. "The only reason Allen would go this far to get that gun back is if it was used in a crime, probably a murder. I'm not letting him get a free pass on that. It's time to do what I should have done in the first place."  
_

_"Are you out of your fucking mind? Allen's going to kill David and me if you do that. He knows where we live and work and he's got officers on the take. There is no way anyone can protect us. Besides, you took that gun without turning it over to your department in the first place. You think they are just going to forgive you for that?"_

_"I don't give a damn anymore." Darnell replied. "This has gotten way out of hand and it's time to end it. I'm going to turn that gun in and David's going to tell the cops where he got it from. We can put Allen away for good."_

_"I can't let you do that." Said Rodney. "Even if David lives to take the witness stand, he'd have to confess to being a drug dealer. He could go to prison. We know he wouldn't last a week in there."_

_"That's just a chance we'll have to take. Now give me the gun," said Darnell, stepping closer to Rodney.  
_

_"Stay back Darnell! Don't come any closer" shouted Rodney, and once again raised it up, pointing it at Darnell's head._

_"Come on man, it's over! Backup is going to be here any minute. Now give it to me." Darnell re-stated, continuing to advance towards him. One more step and he would be close enough to grab the revolver.  
_

_"No!" shouted Rodney followed by the booming sound the revolver going off. Time seemed to almost go in slow motion for Rodney as he watched the muzzel flash and the round strike his old friend directly in the face. Sending him tumbling backward. Rodney continued firing the weapon as Darnell fell to the ground until it clicked dry._

_Stunned by his own actions, Rodney slowly released the revolver from his grip, letting it fall to the ground next to Darnell's body. For a few seconds, all he could do was stare, trying to fully comprehend what he had done. But suddenly he was alerted by the sound Darnell's radio, snapping him back to reality._

_"__Dispatch this is officer Stanton. I've arrested one male suspect. Send backup units and paramedics to my location immediately. He's in pretty bad shape."_

_Realizing he backup units would be there soon, Rodney ran back to his car, containing the wounded Raynard Whitney in the back seat. As he got in the driver's seat, he could already hear the faint sounds of police sirens in the distance. Rodney quickly started the engine and drove off under the cover of darkness, leaving no trace other then evidence of the horrific shootout behind and the panicked voice of Laura Stanton emitting from Darnell's radio._

___"Prince, respond! Is everything alright? Dammit Prince answer me! What's going on Darnell, Darnell?"_

* * *

_("Shadows of the Night" by Pat Benatar)_

Rodney Landis showed no emotion as he finished giving his statement and allowed the detectives to handcuff him. As they escorted him out of the interrogation room, he was surprised to see his son, David, waiting for him in the lobby. David said nothing, but his face contained an expression of utter shock and horror, realizing what Rodney had done. Rodney sighed and looked away. He knew his son would never forgive him for this, and perhaps it was best that way...

Surrounded by his fellow sailors, Marcus Rothman leaned against the rails of his ship as it pulled out of Norfolk on the way to a scheduled 6 month deployment at sea. While many of his fellow crewmen were not looking forward to the months of being away from their families and hard work ahead, Marcus was happy to be going out. His visit from the Philadelphia detectives had brought back some very unpleasant memories, and this would be just what he needed to clear his head. As he took one last look at the dock before it faded away in the distance, he saw the image of Darnell, standing on the dock looking at him with an expression that beamed with pride...

Gerald Allen sat at a seat in his old bar, watching a basketball game and gulping down shots. The place was no longer his, one of the many assets he was forced to give up after his 1984 conviction. Now it was just a place for him to go and forget his troubles and occasionally entertain other patrons with grand stories of his former wealth and power. But tonight he was in no mood for memories of better times. He just wanted to drink his troubles away. With a heavy sigh, he ordered another round. This was going to be a long night...

Filled with satisfaction at another solved case, Stillman carried the folder with the name "PRINCE. D", now marked "CLOSED" back into the records room. With all the effort it had taken to solve this case, and the fact that it involved one of their own, it felt particularly gratifying to put this one away. But there would be no respite for the Cold Case squad. Gerald Allen had given them the name of the man who killed Julia Sears, and just like that, the squad already had another case to clear. Stillman was pleased at the thought of something: even in death, Darnell was still helping the department solve a crime...

Byron Wilford sat at his desk in the Brinks building, desperately trying focus on the stack of contract forms lying in front of him. Amazingly, he had managed to get through this entire situation without losing his freedom or his job. But while trying to concentrate on his work, Wilford could not get his mind off the events he had set in motion. All this time he had managed to put his past behind him and avoid thinking about his old life, but it had finally caught up, and his conscience was not letting him off easy...

The students in Larry Tyler's firearms class, his own grandchildren among them, took their positions on the firing line and waited on his command. As he gave the signal, the area erupted with the sound of gunfire and over 20 guns went off at once. After the gunfire died down, Larry gave the order to holster weapons and the students moved up to check their targets. Tyler walked down the line, checking the targets of each shooter. By the time he got to his granddaughter's target, she was waiting for him with a look of pride on her face. She had put all of her rounds into the target's center mass, giving her the best grouping out of all the students. Trying not to show any emotion in front of the other students, Larry simply smiled back and ordered the shooters back to the line for the next phase...

Sitting in the bleachers next to her husband, Laura Stanton was nearly overwhelmed with emotion as she listened the speech at her son's high school graduation ceremony. There had been so many big events for her recently: her retirement from the force, preparing for her son to go out on his own, and now learning that after all these years, the incident that had haunted her for so long had finally been resolved. As the speech concluded, Laura joined the other parents in a standing ovation, trying unsuccessfully to hold back tears. She then turned to see the image of Darnell, in his police uniform, on his feet in the stands, silently clapping and looking at her approvingly. Laura remembered that expression well. It was something she had found reassuring during her difficult early days on the force, and as she looked on, memories of her 25 years of service came flooding back to her. As the applause died down and the people in the stands took their seats, Darnell smiled at Laura one last time before turning, his image fading and eventually disappearing as he walked away...

**The End**


End file.
